Of Gods and Losers
by snakeboy33
Summary: What happens when you take a bored god, and a loser who REALLY wants to be a hero. You get a very strange set of circumstances, and something more than just ensuing hijinks. Pairing is undecided. Cover art by KegiSpringfield.
1. God Meet Loser

_**Prologue**_

" _ **He will not succeed."**_

" _ **Ever the pessimist, brother."**_

" _ **Realism, not pessimism. No one can kill her, you wrote that very clearly into the curse."**_

" _ **I didn't bring him back to kill her."**_

" _ **Yes, yes, I know, you and your personal projects. Why do you insist on committing to this failure?"**_

" _ **What would you have me do, abandon our effort?"**_

" _ **Frankly I think we should have just left that world and started again on another."**_

" _ **You give up too easily. Need I remind you that they were your creation as well."**_

" _ **They were, and they turned against us after all we gave them."**_

" _ **A choice they made with a gift you gave them. Was it not you who said that without choice, everything else was pointless?"**_

" _ **And you gave them knowledge so that they could make choices based on reason. It seems they preferred my gift to your's."**_

" _ **Pettiness does not become you, brother."**_

" _ **And denial does not become you."**_

" _ **The humans are as we made them."**_

" _ **Are you suggesting their faults are because of our own actions. As I told you, I merely gave them the ability to choose; we did not force them to do anything."**_

"… _ **."**_

" _ **Well, at any rate, they seem to have rebuilt somewhat in our absence. This warrants some further investigation."**_

" _ **Are you suggesting…"**_

" _ **I will go down there myself, and walk amongst them. Then, we will truly have an idea about how far along they have come."**_

" _ **You cannot."**_

" _ **Relax, brother, I am not going down there as I am, and I will not pass judgement at this time. I will merely inhabit the body of a mortal, and… watch. You are free to join me."**_

" _ **No, we vowed to remain away from this world until the time for judgement came."**_

" **You** _ **vowed. I made no such promise."**_

" _ **If you do anything to disrupt them…"**_

" _ **Be at peace, brother, you may yet find this entertaining."**_

 **(on Remnant)**

To say Jaune was stressed out would be something of an understatement. This meant more to him that almost anything else in his life. He leaned over all the luggage strewn over his bed beside Crocea Mars.

"I still don't get why you get grandpa's sword," Jade said, as she sat on the other side of his bed, "Doesn't it belong to the whole family?"

"You don't even want to be a huntress," Jaune answered, looking up at his sister.

"But still, what're we supposed to put over the mantle now?" Jade was slightly taller than Jaune, with short, messy blonde hair, and a green shirt.

"Ask Indigo to put her weapon there," Jaune suggested. Jade chuckled slightly.

"There's an image there," she said, as she shoved her little brother slightly, "Well, I'll see you later before you go." She then took her leave, leaving her brother alone again.

However, for a brief instant, a wave of vertigo washed over him, as if something had just passed through him, but he quickly dismissed it as more nerves.

"Come on, Arc," he said to himself, "Just chill out; it'll be fine, I mean its not like your entire future as a huntsman, and your family dignity is on the line here."

" **You know, there are far greater priorities in this world."**

"Yeah, but…," Jaune's skipping heart silenced him. He looked around, hoping beyond hopes that someone else had walked into the room.

"Who said that?"

" **I, of course,"** the voice said plainly, as if it were completely obvious. That did _very_ little to help. Once again, Jaune looked around, desperately praying that someone had entered the room since he last checked.

" **For what its worth, I can't actually answer those prayers."**

"Great, I'm so stressed I'm hearing voices," Jaune said, rubbing his forehead, "I'm going crazy."

" **Not exactly what is taking place now."**

"I'm hearing voices, and I'm alone," Jaune answered "Isn't that the definition of crazy?"

" **I think on a higher level than you mortals, so I suppose I would not know."**

"'You mortals'," Jaune echoed, not bothering to wonder why he was actually engaging the voice in his head, "What does that mean?"

" **What else could it mean?"**

"You're a voice in my head, it could mean anything." For a second, Jaune could've sworn he heard the voice _sigh_.

" **I am not a 'voice in your head', child,"** the voice said.

"Then what the hell are you?"

" **I would advise against using religious-based profanity with me boy,"** the voice scolded.

"What would you care?"

" **Seeing as I am the basis for your world's religions, it is a matter that is very relevant to me."** It took Jaune a fully several seconds to fully process what had been said.

"Wait a minute, are you…"

" **Yes, I am indeed a god."** Jaune wasn't sure how long he stood still letting that set in. He considered again that is was just a voice in his head.

" **Again, am I not a 'voice in your head'."**

"Uh….." A god was talking in Jaune's head. What the hell was he supposed to say?

" **Relax,"** the god said.

"A god's talking in my head, how am I supposed to relax?"

" **Take comfort in the fact that I am merely inhabiting your body."**

"HOW IS THAT BETTER!" Jaune cried out.

" **I thought you would be honored. In my day there were mortals who sacrifice their own family for such an honor."**

" **Perhaps there is a more direct way I can do this."** Suddenly, sensing a presence, Jaune looked over, to see a tall figure standing beside him. Jaune tried to scream, but all that came out was a tiny squeak.

" **Well that was rather pathetic."** The figure was tall, but not like any figure Jaune had ever seen. While clearly male, he had no defining feature like eyes, a nose, though he had facial contours. A pair of horns curved out of the back of his head, but what got Jaune's attention the most was the fact that he seemed to somehow _radiate_ darkness.

"You… you…"

" **Relax, this is merely an illusion, I am not truly present. I imagine you are curious as to who exactly I am,"** the figure said.

"Y…yeah."

" **I am one of the two creators of humanity, the one who gave you the power to destroy, and to choose. I have gone by many identities throughout the ages, but to most, I am simple, the God of Darkness."** Jaune wasn't sure if it was just this place or something, but the air was completely still, as he processed what he heard. He wasn't sure if he should kneel, scream again, or something of the combination.

" **I expected at least a little bit more of a reaction,"** the god commented, cocking his head slightly.

"I… I don't know what to say," Jaune finally forced out.

" **I suppose that is to be expected,"** the god said as he walked towards Jaune, who quickly stood at attention **, "I imagine you are not used to being in the presence of your creator."**

"No," Jaune answered with a nervous chuckle, "not really." There was a moment of silence, as Jaune tried to think of something to say.

"So, why are you here?" he finally asked. _Did I seriously just ask that?_

" **Yes you did."**

"Wait, you can read my mind?"

" **I am in your mind,"** the God of Darkness explained, gesturing **, "Of course I can."**

"Oh, yeah."

" **So as to answer your question, there is no real singular reason,"** the god answered plainly **, "You were just the first mortal I saw, there was nothing exceptional about you."** __On the one hand, Jaune was rather relieved; being sought after by the God of Darkness certainly wasn't a good thing. But on the other hand, he wasn't entirely appreciative of the way the god put it.

" **I am here merely to observe. It has been a long time since I have been in this world."**

"Remnant?"

" **Is that what they are calling it now? How quaint, I am sure my brother would be quite amused."**

"Your brother?"

" **A story for another time, boy. We will talk at length more as we go along."** With that, he snapped his fingers.

"Wait!" Jaune cried, but was too slow, as he suddenly found himself back in his room.

"Uh…" For a moment, Jaune wondered if the god was…

" **I am still present."**

"Of course," Jaune said, taking a breath, figuring it was better not to question at at this point.

"Jaune!" his mother called, "If you don't go now, you won't make your ride in time." Though this may have sounded weird, Jaune didn't care much about his trip to Beacon; the god that was now sharing his body.

"Jaune!" his mother called again, "Do I have to come up there?"

" **I would be best if you continue your life as I were not here,"** the God of Darkness said.

"Easy for you to say."

"You say something, sweetie?"

"No!" Jaune said quickly, "I'll be right there."

" **I think this will actually be quiet interesting."**

"That makes one of us."

 **Note: The result of a plot bunny setting up house in my head. I figured if I didn't put something to TextEdit it would drive me crazy, so I decided to put this thing up here. Nothing grand I know, but I'm hoping this will go on for a while. I really like the Brother Gods in** _ **RWBY**_ **, and I hope to see more of them. I'm of the mind that while they may have overreacted somewhat by wiping out the entirety of humanity (don't think that won't come up), what happened to Salem was her own fault.**

 **As some may have noticed, the gods' dialogue is rather overwritten. That's sort of the point, since I figured gods would really like the sounds of their own voices. Bare in mind, I'm an agnostic atheist, which means I don't know if there's any higher power out there, but I'm of the mind that its a moot question because there is simply no way of knowing for certain, but I'm open to be proven wrong (don't take that as an invitation to proselytize to me).**

 **Be sure to review.**


	2. Welcome to Beacon

_**Welcome to Beacon**_

After getting possessed by a god, Jaune assumed that many of his personal ailments would vanish; and was it really such an unreasonable assumption? But nonetheless, he was still puking into a trashcan after getting off the ship to Beacon. He may have puked on another girl's shoes in the process.

" **A truly disgusting display if ever there was one,"** Darkness said, as he stood over him, his arms folded behind his back. Jaune started to refer to him as "Darkness", so as he could actually call the god something, instead of just "god".

 _Can't you give me a blessing or something?_ Jaune asked _Make this thing go away._ He had learned that he could communicate with Darkness without speaking out loud, since it would seem rather awkward if he was constantly talking out loud to what everyone saw as thin air.

" **I am afraid my blessings do not function in such a way."**

 _Why did you create motion sickness? Is it your way of punishing us?_

" **The anatomy of humans was not something either my brother or I gave much thought too during your creation,"** Darkness said **, "We simply chose a basic form that we thought would be functional. And at any rate, both we both have far more direct means of punishment than 'motion sickness'."**

 _And here I thought gods were benevolent._

" **What are you insinuating?"**

 _Forget about it._

" **I have existed since before your world came into being; I do not forget anything."** Jaune just groaned some more, as he resumed puking, and fortunately, Darkness didn't pursue the matter. Once he was finished, either from his stomach being emptied, or the nausea simply waning, he hobbled his way down to the courtyard with Darkness walking beside him.

 _I'm not going to have make regular sacrifices to you now, am I?_ Jaune asked, glancing at him.

" **No, but if you were to build a shrine to me and leave the occasional offering, I would not be opposed to it."**

 _I wouldn't bet on it._ Jaune then suddenly had to stop as he looked up at Beacon sprawling before him. He couldn't deny how impressive it was.

"Wow," he murmured.

" **It is not the greatest I have seen your kind build,"** Darkness said plainly.

 _You're hard to impress_ Jaune said, briefly forgetting that Darkness created the very world he stood on. Chances were a single building didn't impress him much. As they continued down the sidewalk, Darkness noticed a Faunus girl with rabbit ears.

" **That child…,"** Darkness mused.

 _Yeah, what about her?_ Jaune asked _She's a Faunus._

"' **Faunus' you say, how interesting."**

 _What's so interesting about them? Didn't you create them too?_

" **No, as a matter of fact we did not,"** Darkness answered, as he he looked back at Jaune **, "I do not know from what source they sprung, and yet at glance, they seem to possess many of the traits my brother and I gave humanity. I will have to investigate this further when I get the opportunity."**

 _That actually makes me wonder_ Jaune said _Are you omniscient?_ To his surprise, Darkness gave brief pause upon being asked that.

" **Not in the strictest sense, in that I cannot see everything that is happening at all times,"** he eventually explained **, "However, I can go anywhere I please so long as I have a clear location in mind, and I can see anything that is happening there, so long as I know what to look for."**

 _But you can do whatever you want right? I mean, the rules everyone else follows don't affect you._

" **Seeing as I was the one who wrote those laws into existence, they do not apply to me."**

 _So you are all powerful, but not all seeing?_ Jaune asked.

" **An apt enough way to put it,"** Darkness answered with a nod. Their attention was then suddenly taken by the sound of a small explosion nearby.

 _That wasn't you was it?_ Jaune asked.

" **I may be a being of destruction, but that does not mean that all destruction originates from me,"** Darkness answered plainly. After making their way over towards the sound, Jaune noticed a girl in white and a girl in black walking way, but his attention was really seized by a girl in red lying on the ground. Jaune couldn't help but think she was kind of cute, and couldn't help but be reminded of his own predicament as he came over to help her.

"Hey!" Jaune greeted as he offered her a hand, "I'm Jaune."

"Ruby," the girl said with a smile, as she accepted his hand, and he hoisted her up, sniffling slightly.

"Aren't you the guy who puked on the ship?"

" **Yes, this is indeed him."**

 _Seriously, Darkness?_ Jaune said, even though he knew Ruby could not hear either of them. The two (three if you counted the invisible god) then strolled through Beacon's courtyard getting to know each other.

"I'm just saying motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on," Jaune insisted, "I swear, its the powers that be punishing us for a failings as humans."

" **I told you, if I wished to punish you,"** Darkness commented **, "I would be far more direct."**

"I'm sorry, 'vomit boy' was just the first thing that came to mind," Ruby said, waving her hands.

 _No comments from the peanut gallery, please._

"For the record, the name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, the ladies love it," Jaune said smoothly, or least that was what he thought of it as. Somehow, Jaune felt Darkness rolling the eyes he didn't have.

"Do they?" Ruby asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I… uh… well," Jaune cleared his throat, "They will. Well, I hope they will."

" **I cannot fulfill those prayers either."** This time, Jaune ignored the god.

"Never mind, forget about it," Jaune said, waving slightly. Ruby just giggled at that slightly, which was a soft enough sound that Jaune couldn't help but smile. He noticed that Darkness was walking beside Ruby, leaning in close to her.

 _What are you doing?_ Jaune asked _I know she can't see you, but that still looks a little creepy._

" **Her eyes,"** he muttered briefly.

 _What about them?_

" **I sense something,"** Darkness explained **, "Something about them is magical."**

 _Did your brother make them?_ Jane asked.

" **I do not know,"** Darkness said, and despite not having a face, Jaune could've sworn he was frowning **, "If he did, he did not tell me about these creations."**

"So…," Ruby said, preventing Jaune from pursuing the topic, "I got this." She then pulled out a massive red scythe, which nearly made Jaune jump out of his skin.

"Is that a scythe?" he asked nervously.

"Its also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle," Ruby said proudly.

"Eh?"

"Its also a gun."

"See, was that so hard to say?"

" **You humans have truly turned the art of combat into a complicated affair,"** Darkness commented **, "I remember when all you needed was a sword and a shield."**

"So, what've you got?" Ruby inquired.

"Uh… I've got this sword," Jaune eventually answered, as he held up Crocea Mars. He was also possessed by an ancient deity that helped create humanity, but figured that wasn't a good thing to bring up in the first conversation.

"What does it do?" Ruby asked.

"Its a sword," Jaune answered.

"Yeah, what does it do?" Ruby pressed.

"Its a piece of metal hammered into a blade shape," Jaune said plainly, "It cuts things, and the shield blocks things."

" **That is precisely my point,"** Darkness said, gesturing **, "Nothing more is required to slay your enemies."**

"Well, that's kind of boring," Ruby said.

"It belonged to my great-great grandfather," Jaune said, frowning slightly, "Its one of my family's most prized possessions. I practically had to fight my sisters to get it."

"Oh, please don't take it the wrong way," Ruby said quickly, waving her hands, "If you can't appreciate the classics, what's the point of liking the new stuff?"

"I guess that's true," Jaune said letting a slight smile get on his face.

"By the way, why'd you help me back there in the courtyard?" Ruby then asked.

"Why not?" Jaune answered, "Mom always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."

" **That is not a wise way of approaching the world,"** Darkness commented.

 _Can you please_ not _give your input sometimes?_ Jaune asked.

" **I always believed that mortals prized my perspective,"** Darkness answered **, "Are you suggesting it is not valuable."**

 _Never mind._

"By the way," Ruby said, "where are we going?"

"I was following you."

" **You were going in no particular direction, you both just wandering aimlessly as you spoke with each other."**

 _What did we just talk about?_

 **(in the hall)**

Once they got to the Beacon Hall, Ruby split off to join a girl in yellow, much to Jaune's disappointment.

"Great, now where am I supposed to find a quirky girl to hang out with?" he griped.

" **There are many females in this hall alone,"** Darkness said.

 _Yeah, like another pretty red head is going to show up just like that_ Jaune quipped.Darkness opted not to inform him of the other red headed girl who was watching him go by. Jaune then turned his attention to the stage, where Professor Ozpin, was giving a speech that admittedly Jaune was somewhat zoned out during.

" **Its him."** Jaune looked at Darkness, who seemed surprised he said that out loud.

 _Do you know him?_

" **In a manner of speaking."**

 _What do you mean?_

" **A tale for another time, boy,"** Darkness said firmly, making it clear that the topic was not to be talked about. Once he was done, Ozpin dismissed them, and they were told to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

" **While I do acknowledge your respect for your family heirloom,"** the god said as he strolled beside Jaune **, "Looking at the others makes me realize that you should consider getting a more advanced weapon. The creatures you shall be facing are quite fearsome, and your blade may not be enough."**

 _I'll… I'll make it work_ Jaune insisted _Why, could you do anything?_

" **I could,"** Darkness answered **, "It is more a matter if I would considering the circumstances."**

 _You could've just said "no"._

" **I did not say I would never,"** Darkness continued **, "Merely that I would not at this particular time."** Jaune wondered what he meant by that, but figured that pressing a god for something probably wasn't a good idea.

 _By the way do you eat?_

" **I created your species and you ask if I need the same sustenance you do?"**

 _Again, you could just say "no"._

 **(in the dorms)**

" **Why are you wearing those particular garments?"** Darkness inquired. Jaune looked at him as he finished zipping up his onsie. The day had come to the close, and the new students had been gathered in the dorms floor level; they would get actual rooms when they were divided into teams. Jaune wasn't sure if Darkness slept, though he presumed he didn't.

 _What do you mean?_ he asked.

" **Looking at your fellows, I notice the are wearing considerably different garments. Why are you unique in that respect?"**

 _Its a onsie_ Jaune answered plainly, holding up his arms _What can I say? Its comfortable. Come to think of it, why aren't you wearing anything? Do gods just go it naked? Or do just not have…._ Jaune cleared his throat slightly.

" **Is that really a question you want to ponder?"** Darkness said plainly, leaning down slightly. Jaune quickly decided it wasn't. He then made his way over to his sleeping spot, noticing Ruby and the girl he would learn was her sister, Yang. While she may not have had the cute factor Ruby had, she was certainly very good looking. However, he noticed her return a rather put off expression as he made eye contact with her, causing him to give up for the time.

 _Do you think you could use your divine power to help me find a date?_ he asked his divine acquaintance. There was a period of silence, as Darkness just kept looking at Jaune.

 _Did you…_

" **I certainly heard you, boy,"** Darkness answered **, "I merely believed you needed further time to contemplate those words."** After a moment, Jaune realized what he just said.

 _Sorry, point taken_ he said, before pausing again _Would it help if prayed to you?_

" **No."**

 _Can't blame a guy for trying._

 **Note: Glad to see that this story is already acquiring its readers. be sure to keep reading and reviewing. I started a poll for a pairing; its not to determine what the pairing will ultimately be, just to get a sense of popularity, and I will decide on the pairing based on the story's necessity. I'll take this as an opportunity to say again that I'm not going to put them all on the same teams (I already knew how they're going to be sorted).**

 **I'm making up my own origin story for the Silver Eyed Warriors for obvious reasons. The exact details will be revealed over time. Also, there's the matter of where the Faunus come from, as they were not present during the time the Brothers were on Remnant.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **I really wish I had a better picture to put as the cover.**


	3. Initiation Part 1

_**Initiation Part 1**_

Once Jaune hadn't fallen asleep, Darkness didn't have much reason to keep watching him. To that end, he allowed himself to wander out of the building, where he surveyed Beacon some. It was impressive in deed, especially since it was constructed without magic; looking around, though, Darkness thought it seemed… incomplete. It lacked the spark that the structures of his time; there was always an ever present strength and energy that lay within the structures humanity built, something that sprang from magic, which the humans of this time were sorely lacking.

Darkness then glanced up, towards the moon. The moon was a creation of his own, created as something the humans could look up at he way they looked up at the sun in reverence of his brother. There had been times he regretted destroying it, but the point had been made, and he wasn't going to change it now.

In all honesty, while he could've avoided it easily, he hadn't, for a fairly simple reason: the world was broken, so the moon should reflect that. It wasn't as if he had to worry about it damaging the world, at any rate.

Darkness looked at his hand, and summoned a ball of dark fire. He was satisfied to see that coming back to this world hadn't lessoned his power any, but he was still not going to use it. Not because his promised his brother (at any rate he didn't do that in the first place), but because the mortals did not deserve the power he had. Though he still couldn't help but wonder how the mortals would have reacted to his power in this time, where their creators had likely faded into myth.

" **Well, brother,"** he muttered, as he looked back to the moon, and folded his arms behind his back **, "I suppose will have to have to wait and see what this world has in store."**

 **(next morning)**

Jaune didn't sleep so well, in part because he at one point woke up and saw Darkness looming over him again. Eventually, Jaune had to ask the god to at least disappear for the night. Once he got up, he had some trouble finding his locker, though Darkness managed to remind him.

" **It should be said that if you have such trouble finding the location where you store your tools, you will have great difficulty being a huntsman,"** Darkness commented.

 _Being a huntsman isn't about remembering where your locker is, or what the combination is_ Jaune said _Its about protecting innocent people._

" **Which you will not be able to accomplish by not being able to find your locker,"** Darkness commented.

 _Did you come here for any other reason than giving me the occasional snarky comment?_

" **My motives are no concern of a mortal."**

 _How did I know you were going to say that?_

Jaune opted to take his attention away from the god for the time, as he adjusted his sword belt slightly, taking notice of a pretty girl with white hair. She was talking to an equally pretty girl with red hair and bronze armor. He then decided to try his luck with the former.

It didn't go well, and in hindsight, Darkness probably warned him about it somewhat.

 **(on the cliff)**

The new students had gathered on the cliff over looking the deep forest, listening to Ozpin talk. Jaune was trying to prepare himself mentally for what was about to come, with little success. That was when Ozpin brought up the fact that the students would be literally flung into the forest, and would have to figure out their own way to land without breaking their bodies in the process.

"Huh?" Jaune said, not sure if he had heard that right.

" **You did,"** Darkness said **, "Certainly a very aggressive way of teaching. What was the human saying? Was it 'throwing someone into the deep end'?"**

"Uh, I have a question," Jaune said raising his hand, only to be soundly ignored as the students kept getting taken off, "Are we getting parachutes or anything?" Still being ignored, Jaune was getting over more stressed out over this.

"Anyone at all," he said, "I'd love to get an answer." This time, Ozpin actually looked at him.

"Relax, Mr. Arc," the professor said passively, "I have no doubts that you will do this with no trouble." Jaune was really unsure if he was being serious on that, and that freaked him out even further.

" **It appears that your turn will be the next to take place,"** Darkness said, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Wha…" The "question" quickly turned to a scream as Jaune was catapulted into the air. Darkness just watched, shaking his head slightly

" **If nothing else, this is certainly proving quite entertaining."** He then glanced at Ozpin briefly, before fading away to rejoin his host.

 **(over the forest)**

Jaune wasn't sure if he was still screaming, because if he was, then it had long since faded into the background. He just kept plummeting through the air, with literally no idea what to do, and completely without the sound of mind to think of a way to land.

" **It is becoming progressively apparent to me that you are woefully incapable of doing any of this."** Jaune turned to see Darkness "standing" in mid air beside him.

"Can you please help?!" Jaune cried, no longer bothering to not address him out loud.

" **I do not believe that a fall from this height would harm you,"** Darkness said, looking down **, "Though it would likely injure you significantly, leaving you vulnerable to the creatures that hunt within this forest."**

"I am literally praying right now!" Jaune screamed, "Now act like a damn god and answer them!" Darkness chuckled slightly.

" **I suppose it would be inconvenient if you were maimed so soon,"** he commented, he then held up his hand which glowed slightly. At first, nothing happened.

"YOU BAS…" He didn't finish, as a pair of glowing, dragon-like wings then sprouted from Jaune's back. Needless to say, Jaune was rather flummoxed, as he instinctively opened his "wings". Though he obviously couldn't fly, it slowed his fall just enough for him to tumble "safely" through the trees, cushioning his fall.

"What the hell are…" He couldn't finish as the wings suddenly vanished as Darkness floated down to him.

"What did you just do to me?" Jaune asked as he managed to stand back up.

" **I slowed your fall, and prevented you from suffering serious injuries, obviously,"** Darkness said plainly.

"I was thinking more along the lines of maybe levitating me or something."

" **It would not have been nearly as interesting to observe."**

"Do you guys have internet in the realm of the gods, because I have a sneaking suspicion you're a troll."

 **(somewhere else in the forest)**

Ruby was getting rather desperate. She wasn't sure how long she'd been running, but she still had found no trace of her sister.

 _Maybe Yang was right_ she thought _Maybe I should find someone else to be my partner._ She scanned her mind for potential other teammates, which wasn't a long list, considering she was only a name basis with three people other than Yang. There was Jaune; he was nice, funny, and all around good guy, but Ruby had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't much of a fighter. There was Blake, and while she seemed nice, Ruby doubted that she could really talk much with her. That left Weiss, and it was a given that Ruby couldn't work with her. So that just left…

"Yang! Yang!" she resumed calling, too no avail. In her attempts to find her sister, she wasn't fully paying attention to her surroundings, as she bowled into a tree.

"Ow," both Ruby and the tree said. The girl in red pushed up from the tree to notice who she had really crashed into.

"Jaune?"

"Ruby?" The two looked at each other briefly, processing what had just happened.

"Well, I guess that's that then," Ruby said with a small smile as she got up, offering a hand for Jaune to do the same.

"Yeah I guess so," Jaune answered as he was pulled up, "So what do we do now?"

"Professor Ozpin said to look for the ruins, where there will be relics for us to collect," Ruby answered, "I guess we start doing that." Despite herself, she felt slightly guilty thinking the way she did earlier. It was wrong to judge Jaune at this point, considering how little she knew about him.

"Good as any place to start," Jaune said, "Got any idea where to go?" That question had also been directed at Darkness, whose attention had wandered slightly.

" **Pardon?"**

 _We have to go looking for some ruins in this forest_ Jaune explained, looking at him _Any idea where they might be._

" **I am afraid I have not committed the geography of this forest to my memory,"** Darkness said plainly, as he rubbed his fingers together **, "So I do not possess the knowledge as to where any ruins might be."**

 _You love hearing yourself talk, don't you?_

"What're you looking at?" Ruby suddenly interrupted. Jaune quickly looked at her, and remembered that from her perspective, he was probably just staring out into space.

"Oh, just looking around," he answered, "Come on, let's get moving."

"Right behind ya!"

 **(somewhere else in the forest)**

Despite what she had said earlier, Yang had decided to look for Ruby; while she wanted her sister to expand her horizons and her circle of friend, this forest wasn't wholly safe, and Yang's big sister instincts wouldn't let her leave her sister to flounder. To that end, she was making her way through the forest, searching high and low for the girl in red.

Yang found a spear at her neck, while Pyrrha found a gauntlet shotgun at her face.

"Oh sorry," Pyrrha said with a nervous chuckle, as she lowered her spear, while Yang did the same with her fists, "I thought you were a Grimm."

"Don't worry about it," Yang said with her own chuckle and a shrug, "Can't say I didn't think the same."

"Pyrrha Nikos," Pyrrha said, offering a hand, "I guess that makes us partners now."

"Yang Xiao Long," Yang answered, clasping it, "I've heard of you. You were on a cereal box, Pumpkin Pete's, right?"

"Yeah," Pyrrha said, her cheeks briefly flashing red, "That was the one."

"I remember my sister really liked the cereal," Yang said, as the two started walking, "So, we're supposed to look for the ruins, right?"

"That's what Professor Ozpin said," Pyrrha answered, "Though I'm not sure where to start."

"I say we just keeping walking, but in the meantime, keep an eye out for a girl with a red hood," Yang said, "That would be my sister, Ruby. She's tough, but she's probably a little freaked out now."

 **(somewhere** _ **else**_ **in the forest)**

Blake landed quite smoothly, if she did say so herself. Once she did, she started moving in whatever direction her instincts pointed her in. She didn't have any specific individual she wanted as a partner, though she did know for certain she did not want the Schnee girl as one. The sound of bushes in the distance, put her on alert

He was dressed in green, and had black hair like Blake. The girl could actually remember seeing him in the morning being trailed by an orange haired girl with a hammer. The two made eye contact, thus establishing their partnership.

"Name's Lie Ren," the boy said with a nod.

"Blake Belladona," Blake answered, returning the nod, "I guess this means we're partners. Any idea where to go?"

"Not really."

"Then we just keep walking," Blake said, as she continued doing exactly that, Ren following behind close behind. He briefly wondered how Nora was doing.

 **(somewhere ELSE in the forest)(you know what this means…)**

The moment she landed, Weiss had started looking for Pyrrha, considering how between the wannabe playboy and the girl in red who Weiss could've sworn was sent by the gods to punish her for something, she couldn't think of anyone else who would've made a half decent partner. To that end, for her own safety (and sanity) she was searching for the most capable individual in the woods at the time.

She was alerted to the sound of rustling in the bushes, and she reflexively put her hand Myrtenaster, and got ready to fight. It was then followed by a strange sound echoing through the trees, like someone trying to imitate an animal call.

"If you're any other person than Pyrrha Nikos, please do not come out, for both our sakes," Weiss declared. Unfortunately, she found herself being ignored, as an orange haired girl popped her head out of the bushes.

"You're not Ren," she said pouting slightly. There was a period of silence, as what had just happened sunk into Weiss, and an unexplainable feeling of dread washed over her.

"By the gods," she murmured, before saying, "Please tell me I'm not the first person you made eye contact with."

"The name's Nora Valkyrie," the girl said with a smile so big Weiss almost thought her face might split in half, "You're Weiss Schnee aren't you?"

"Yes," Weiss answered slowly.

"Ren and I once saw you perform on I-Tube," Nora explained, "I thought it was boring, but Ren liked it."

"Uh," Weiss said, really not sure how to respond.

"I was really hoping Ren would be my partner! I even, made a sloth sound to signal him," Nora said as she popped up next to Weiss, "But that's the luck of the draw I guess!" She then grabbed Weiss' hand.

"Now come on, partner!" she said, "Adventures await!" As what was happening really sunk in, the girl in white's dread only grew.

"Oh ye gods," Weiss prayed, after she freed her hand and fell to her knees, folding her hands, "I beseech thee for thy forgiveness for whatever crime I may have committed, just please give me a different partner."

 **(back with Ruby and Jaune)**

" **I am sorry, my child, but I cannot answer such prayers,"** Darkness said looking into the sky. Jaune ignored him as he kept walking with Ruby.

"This forest is huge," he said, "How are we supposed to find anything in here?"

"Well, if we keep walking, we're bound to find something," Ruby answered with a shrug, "I mean, there's not a time limit, is there?"

"I for one don't want to be out of here when night falls, though," Jaune said, "We need to find it soon."

"I haven't actually unlocked my Semblance yet," he admitted _Can you help me with that, Darkness?_

" **No,"** Darkness answered **, "That is something that you must accomplish on your own, without external aide."** Jaune, for once, understood why the god was doing this, but that still didn't make him feel any better.

" **I can do this though,"** Darkness added, before reaching over, and tapping Jaune briefly in the back of the head. The wave of energy coming over him suddenly made Jaune miss his step and stumble slightly.

"You okay?" Ruby asked, stopping, and looking with concern.

"Yeah," Jaune answered, surprising himself, "Really good actually." He briefly shot a glance at Darkness.

" **I unlocked your Aura,"** Darkness answered plainly **, "I must admit, I am fairly impressed by how great it is."** For a moment, Jaune thought he may have had to be slightly worried about that, considering he wasn't sure if it was a good thing when a god made comments like that, but on the other hand, it was probably good to have it now rather than later.

" **Oh, and you are about to be attacked soon,"** Darkness said.

 _Wha…_ Jaune couldn't finish as from the bushes, a few Ursa emerged, charging at them.

"Ah crap!" Jaune said, as instincts kicked in, and he started running, while Ruby held her ground, and opened up Crescent Rose. Unfortunately the blonde, the Grimm were faster than him. To that end, while Ruby was fighting, Jaune could only dodge the monster's attacks, obviously lacking the skills to take them down.

 _Darkness, a little help please!_ he said. However, he noticed the god merely watching, with his attention on the Grimm specifically.

" **Ah, magnificent creatures, are they not?"** Darkness commented as he looked over the Ursa.

" _Magnificent" seriously?_ Jaune said.

" **Like an earthquake or a hurrican** **e assumed physical form. If not for humanity, surely these would be my masterpiece"** Jaune needed a second to process that, but the Ursa wasn't being very obliging, as he had to keep dodging. Eventually, the information sank in.

 _You created the Grimm!_ he "shouted", having to actively will himself not to say it out loud.

 **"Well, of course,"** Darkness said plainly. That took some time for Jaune to fully process; so that was where the Grimm came from? They were the spawn of the God of Darkness? Of all the theories and legends of their origin, that was not one of them. Somehow, for Jaune at least, that made them even more frightening; they weren't just beasts or evil spirits, they were dark beings that existed for the sole purpose of destroying the world around them.

 **"Do not forget you are still fighting."**

 _"Wha..."_ Jaune let out a slight cry as he had to dodge the Ursa's blow again. Darkness sighed and shook his head slightly, before snapping his fingers. Jaune didn't notice anything happen, but he had to go back to the "fight", as he dodged another attack from the Ursa. Unfortunately, another Ursa came up and slashed at Jaune, but the boy was able to dodge it again. However, it seemed slightly easier than before, as if the beast was moving slower than before.

"Wow," Ruby said, as she cut down another Ursa, "You're pretty quick."

"Yeah, I guess so," Jaune said, now slightly confused.

" **Allow me to clarify, you are not dodging anything,"** Darkness explained **, "I have merely placed an enchantment on you; any one of my creations that encounter you will subconsciously miss you."**

 _You can do that?_

" **I created them from my own being, without my brother. They are still mine to tamper with as I see fit."** Jaune was entirely sure if he wa happy about that; while he was relieved to be out of danger (in manner of speaking), this seemed like cheating. Sadly he couldn't focus on those thoughts, as he had to "dodge" another attack from the Ursa. Then, in a point of rare luck for him, Ruby managed to get over there, and bisect the Ursa without much issue. She then swooped around, and blew the head off the other one.

"You good?" she asked, helping him up.

"In a manner of speaking," Jaune answered, rubbing his head, "Way too much is happening right now. Let's keep going."

" **I would not,"** Darkness answered. Jaune looked at him, seeing the god pointing up…only for a Nevermore to swoop down and nab Ruby straight off the ground.

"JJJAAAUUUNNNEEE!" Ruby cried as she Nevermore carried her away.

"Ruby!" Jaune cried, "Did you do this?"

" **I would have summoned a much larger one if I wanted to torment you as such,"** Darkness said plainly.

"Why is it always me?" Jaune moaned out loud, before chasing after the Nevermore, with Darkness calmly strolling after him.

 **Note: Wow, over 100 follows in just the first two chapters. At that rate, this story will be my most successful since "Eye of the Black Dragon". Let's keep it gong.**

 **Now, I would've loved to have Darkness quip at everything that happens to Jaune a la "Mystery Science Theater 3000", but I need to keep things on track. At any rate, I can't keep all the focus on Jaune, since, in spite of the nature of this concept, attention needs to be properly distributed, or else a story can become stagnant.**

 **Quick note on the Grimm, bear in mind that this story is primarily through Jaune's perspective, so he'll be viewing things chiefly from a human persecuted. Darkness' perspective on the Grimm maybe somewhat different when we finally see it.**

 **I had Jaune already know about things like Aura and Semblance, since it makes very little sense for him to be so naive about it considering the world he lives in.**

 **So far on the poll, Ruby's got a decent sized lead. Don't take that to mean though the pairing will be automatically Lancaster. I made Jaune and Ruby partners mostly because I think it bares seeing more of.**

 **Be sure to keep reviewing.**


	4. Initiation Part 2

_**Initiation Part 2**_

And the day had started so good for Ruby. She had a great sleep, woke up feeling great, and even found a nice enough, if not particularly combat able, guy to be her partner. Naturally, things had to get all screwed up somehow.

Fortunately, Ruby still had Crescent Rose with her, and she had managed to work her way out of the Nevermore's claw, and was now holding onto its leg. _Un_ fortunately, she was very high up, and didn't have a landing strategy this time. All she could do for the time was hold on as best she could.

Meanwhile, Jaune was barely keeping up with the Nevermore on the ground. It wasn't helped by Darkness constantly following him with his obnoxious comments.

" **I would recommend saving your strength,"** Darkness commented, as he materialized in front of Jaune. When Jaune ran right past him, he materialized again further head.

" **You will need your strength for the coming battle."**

"I would recommend you either shut up or help!" Jaune snapped, "Can't you extend the enchantment to Ruby?"

" **Why would I need to do that?"** Darkness asked **, "She is not currently hosting my being, ergo, not of any real concern to me."**

"She's a human, meaning she's your creation!" Jaune said, "Isn't that enough?"

" **There are many more humans, is there any particular reason I should be so concerned about a single child?"** Despite being otherwise focused on what was happening to Ruby, Jaune couldn't help but be shocked at how callous the god was acting. How could be so uncaring? So cold?

" **Before you cast your judgement upon me,"** Darkness said, as he suddenly appeared right in front of Jaune, floating while he ran **, "I would remind you of whom you are speaking to."** Despite himself, Jaune stopped; he was only 17, and Ruby was probably even younger; but Darkness helped create all of Remnant, including humanity; for each year Jaune lived, Darkness probably lived at least a thousand. Should it really have been a surprise that he viewed human lives as so… commonplace.

" **Your friend is still in peril,"** Darkness reminded Jaune, breaking Jaune from his thoughts.

"Ruby!" he cried, looking around.

" **That way,"** Darkness said, pointing in a certain direction, getting Jaune to continue running.

"Look, I just need help," Jaune said, "I don't think I have the ability to save Ruby on my own." Darkness considered that for a time, before looking around slightly, while floating beside Jaune.

" **In that case,"** he said **, "I will provide slightly more aide."** He then looked up at the Nevermore, and jerked his head slightly. The Nevermore then suddenly changed direction.

"What the…," Jaune said, before turning to follow its path as Darkness did the same.

 **(with Pyrrha and Yang)**

Pyrrha wiped her brow slightly while taking a breath. Her and Yang had been walking for a while, and they weren't making much progress. The two had decided to just walk in the general direction they had been flung (as best they could remember it), but weren't getting anywhere.

"We may have to change our plan of attack here," Yang said, rubbing her forehead in frustration. Pyrrha fold her arms, and tapped her fingers on her arm, trying to consider what to do. Right then, a new idea almost seemed to wash over the red head.

"Maybe we should go this way," Pyrrha said, pointing in a different direction.

"Really?" Yang said, cocking her head, "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know," Pyrrha said, "Something's just telling me to go there. My instincts haven't steered me wrong yet."

"Well, its not like we've got any better idea," Yang said with a shrug, "Lead the way, Ms. Cereal Box." However, before the two started walking, they a shadow swooped over them, as they looked up to see a Nevermore flying over them. What was really weird was the faint sound of screaming from it.

"Did that Nevermore sound like a girl screaming?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah," Yang said, narrowing her eyes at the familiar sound, "It did…" Both girls were suddenly surprised by someone else bursting out of the bushes. They both instinctively readied their weapons, only to see who it really was.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha said, remembering the guy she tried to greet in the locker rom.

"Onsie Guy?" Yang said, cocking her head.

"Oh, hey," Jaune said, looking up, "Pyrrha and Yang, right? Have you seen a Nevermore nearby?"

"Uh, yeah, one just flew over," Yang said, "You looking for a partner or something?"

"Actually, I'm Ruby's partner," Jaune explained, "Did you see where the Nevermore went?"

"Uh, that way," Pyrrha answered, pointing with her spear, "Why?"

"Long story short, Ruby's in a Nevermore's claws," Jaune explained.

"WHAT!" Yang screamed. Not even waiting for a response, Yang bolted in the direction she saw the Nevermore flying.

"Wait for me!" Pyrrha said, as she chased after Yang. Jaune just sighed.

"This is too much running for one day," he said, as he followed after the girls. As they ran off, Darkness chuckled slightly, before looking around, and vanishing again.

 **(with Weiss and Nora)**

For every minute that passed, Weiss was even more chagrined by her current partnership. Nora always seemed to need something to quirk about

"Look, its a Nevermore!" Weiss looked where Nora was pointing, and saw it was indeed a Nevermore.

"Praise the gods," Weiss said sarcastically.

"Doesn't anything make you excited?" Nora whined. Weiss just glared at her.

"The sooner we find the ruins, the sooner we don't have to be together anymore," the heiress said, "So to that end, we are not slowing down for anything." To her somewhat surprise, Nora actually looked legitimately hurt by that.

"You don't have to be so mean," she said, pouting slightly.

"I'll do what I need to get things done," Weiss said, "I'm here to uphold my family's good name, not to make friends. Now, if you will just stop leading us in circles, and follow me.

"Actually, I was thinking about going this way," Nora said, pointing. Weiss looked to immediately to put her down again, but then something suddenly came to mind. She looked in the direction Nora was pointing. Every minute she spent with the orange haired girl was pure frustration, but while she REALLY hated to admit it, she was stuck with this orange haired terror, at least for the time being. To that end, she just sighed, and decided to to give Nora the opportunity to prove herself.

"Alright, I'll give you this sole chance to _not_ steer me in the completely wrong direction," Weiss said.

"You won't regret it, sister!" Nora declared, pumping her fist, before running in the direction she pointed.

"Do we have to run everywhere?" Weiss asked as she followed, "Seriously, what's wrong with walking?" From the trees, Darkness just nodded in satisfaction.

" **Though that praise seemed rather false."**

 **(with Blake and Ren)**

"See anything?" Ren called.

"I see a Nevermore not too far away," Blake answered from her position in the tree tops, "Aside from that, the forest is too dense to get a good look. Though I do see some rocks a little ways ahead. I guess that's a start." They made their way down to the rocks.

"Its a cave," Blake said once they arrived.

"It is," Ren answered. The partners looked at it for a time. Indeed it was a cave that lead into a cliffside.

"We shouldn't go in it," Blake said plainly.

"That's a good idea," Ren agreed, with a nod, before pointing, "Let's go this way." They then both started walking away. Darkness appeared in front of the cave, nodding in satisfaction.

" **And for the sake of making things more interesting,"** Darkness said calmly, before he briefly struck his fist against the side of the cliff face. The faint sound of rumbling suddenly got both Blake and Ren to stop and look behind them….

 **(with Ruby and the Nevermore)**

"Okay, Rose, think!" Ruby said, as she banged her head agains the side of the Nevermore's leg, "What would Uncle Qrow do in this situation?" The first thing that came to her mind was "drink", the second thing was maybe try and cut off the Grimm's leg, but figured that he would've had a much better landing strategy than she would.

"Gods damn it," she cursed, "Why do first days have to be so frustrating?" Meanwhile, Darkness floated overhead.

" **You do not need me to damn anything,"** the god said, before pointing down. The Nevermore then suddenly then swooped down towards the ground. Ruby let out a cry as she kept her grip on its leg.

"RUBY!" Looking down, Ruby noticed a few people running out into a clearing that the Nevermore was flying over. Upon looking closer, she saw that it was Jaune, her sister, and a girl with red hair.

"Hang on, Sis!" Yang called, "I'm coming! Hey, Onsie Guy!"

"My name's Jaune."

"We can worry about names when we're done here," Yang said, "Hold up your shield!" Jaune did as instructed, and Yang jumped on it. Taking the point, Jaune pushed up as Yang jumped, giving herself a boost with her gauntlets. As the Nevermore flew low, Yang punched it in the side of the head, causing it to become disoriented, but not killing it. Unfortunately, it did cause Ruby to lose her grip, and to plummet to the ground.

"YAAANG!" Ruby cried as she fell.

"Ruby!" Yang cried right back. Jaune and Pyrrha both moved to try and catch Ruby, but Jaune was the lucky one to catch her. Insofar as she clumsily landed on Jaune.

"Are you guys okay?" Pyrrha asked.

"I think so," Ruby answered, rubbing her head, "What about you Jaune?"

"Somehow," Jaune groaned into the ground.

" **You are indeed intact,"** Darkness said, manifesting over Jaune.

 _Now thanks to you._

" **I did help bring all of you together into this location."**

 _And where is said location?_ Jaune asked as Ruby helped him up. He just noticed Darkness pointing towards what Jaune initially thought were just some rocks, only to notice that they were actually the remains of structures.

" **I was able to locate the ruins you were to search for,"** Darkness answered **, "It only took some searching."**

 _You could do that?_

" **I created your world, you really believe that looking across an average sized forest is outside of my ability?"**

 _Good point._ With all them assembled, Jaune and the girls made their way over to the ruins. There were a series of stands around them.

"Look at these," Pyrrha said as she bent down over one of the stands, where a gold knight piece stood.

"What are those?" Ruby asked, as she came to where Pyrrha was standing.

"You think these are the relics we were supposed to find?" Pyrrha asked, as she picked up the piece and tossed it to herself. Liking the way it looked, Ruby went to the another pedestal, and found another one of the knight pieces.

"Look Weiss! We've made it out of the woods!" The group turned to see Weiss and Nora emerging from the tree line.

"Great, its the princess again," Yang grumbled. As they made their way out, Weiss took a deep breath, considering what had just went down.

"I have the maturity to admit when I have made an error," she said, smiling slightly, "You didn't steer me wrong."

"Just you wait!" Nora declared, slinging her arm around her partner's shoulder, "I'll never steer you wrong ever!" Weiss just rolled her eyes slightly, clearly not into the affection.

" **It is indeed a sign of strength for someone to admit their error,"** Darkness mumbled to himself. The girls made their way to the ruins, but as Weiss reached for the rook piece, Nora promptly nabbed it first.

" _I'm Queen of the Castle!"_ she sang _, "I'm Queen of the Castle!"_ Weiss just groaned.

" **Though it is not a sign of strength to becomes so easily provoked."**

"NORA!" a familiar voice to the orange-head called out. She whirled around to see Ren and Blake running out of the tree line.

"Its Ren!" Nora called happily, "Ren, I…"

"RUN!" both Blake and Ren shouted, silencing all of them. They then heard a shriek, as the trees parted to reveal massive scorpion chasing them.

"Its a Deathstalker!" Pyrrha said.

"Of course it freaking is," Yang said as she got ready to fight.

"Look!" Jaune said, pointing, "The Nevermore's coming back!" Everyone looked up to see the Nevermore circling back.

"Oh, son of a…" Yang had to stop herself from swearing in front of her little sister.

"I say we run!" Jaune said.

"I say we fight!" Ruby declared.

" **There is nothing written that you cannot do both,"** Darkness said.

"Let's do both!" Jaune quickly declared, echoing the god. Seeing as that seemed to be the best option, and they really did not hame time to consider the others, the whole group started running.

"Where are we running too?" Ruby asked.

"I was going to follow you guys!" Jaune said quickly. As Darkness floated over them, he shook his head briefly.

" **It seems mortals are still completely hopeless without my direction,"** he said as he flicked his finger. In a rather odd sensation, Jaune, Weiss, Ren, and Ruby (who had all ended up in the front somehow) found themselves listing in one direction slightly, as the others followed them on instinct. Eventually they were lead into more ruins, but these ruins came to an end at a cliff.

"So, what do we do now?" Jaune asked, "Its a dead end."

" **This, my boy, is where the 'fight' aspect of the both comes into play."**

 _Can't you send the Grimm away or something?_

" **If I were to do such a thing, then you would never properly develop as a warrior,"** Darkness answered **, "They are both approaching; I would prepare."**

"They're getting close," Jaune relayed, "We have to get ready."

"Do we have a plan?" Ren asked.

"Not really," Jaune admitted.

"We should split up," Ruby suddenly said, "Half of us take on the Nevermore, while the others take on the Deathstalker." Everyone looked at each other, but they didn't have enough time to consider it.

"We got this?" Ruby asked her friend. Jaune wasn't sure about it, but looking into Ruby's silver eyes, he couldn't help but feel strangely assured; things suddenly seemed a lot more possible with her.

"Yeah, we got this," Jaune answered, as the two fist bumped.

"Can't let my baby sister get all the credit," Yang said, as she readied her gauntlets, "You got my back, Pyrrha?"

"I have way more than your back," Pyrrha answered with a grin. The four then got ready to take on the Nevermore.

"Ren and I will take the Deathstalker!" Nora said.

"We will?" Ren asked.

"Heck yeah, we will!" Nora declared, pumping her fist.

"Then that means I'm also taking it on," Blake said stepping forward.

"I can't ask…," Ren began.

"You're my partner, we're in this together," Blake interrupted, putting a hand on Ren's shoulder. Ren just gave her the thumbs up.

"And I've got your back, Weiss!" Nora declared, socking her partner in the shoulder briefly, to the annoyance of the heiress. But she didn't protest, as she smiled at the people she now understood to be her team. Weiss knew that to make it out of this, she had to work together with them, no matter how infuriating they could be.

Soon enough, the Nevermore swooped over the area, as the Deathstalker emerged from the trees. The teams all got ready, as the Grimm bore down them. During all of this, the God of Darkness stood atop one of the ruins hidden from view, and watched the mortals charge into battle.

As they were clashing with the Grimm, Darkness folded his arms. They were all fighting well, including Jaune. Darkness had helped Jaune considerably in the exercise all things considered, but he knew that he had to allow the boy his own chance to grow; it would've been far less interesting to watch if the god guided him the whole way around.

The battle ended as quickly as it began, as the Grimm were destroyed. Darkness was impressed by the mortals effort, and they had done it all without magic; though he had to investigate this "Dust" as well. It had many of the same properties of magic, so it warranted some study. The teens then all took it as a much deserved moment to catch their breath.

"Come on," Pyrrha said, "We should make it back the cliff." As people started to leave, Yang then noticed Jaune smiling towards the ruins, where Darkness was still standing. The god nodded briefly towards him.

"What're you smiling at?" she asked.

"Nothing, just thanking the gods," Jaune answered.

"Really?" Yang asked, "Never pegged you for a religious guy."

"I'm really not honestly," Jaune admitted.

" **You are in the constant presence of one of you gods. Your irreligiousness will prove increasingly hard to reconcile."**

 **(in Beacon hall)**

In the Beacon Hall, all the newly initiated students were gathered to be put into their teams. The teams, as they turned out to be, consisted of Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Jaune, alongside Blake, Ren, Weiss, and Nora. An interesting set up if ever there was one. Ruby was just happy to be on the same team as her sister, and also to be with her first real friend in Beacon, and she didn't doubt she and Pyrrha would get along fine. As the ceremony took place, Darkness stood behind Ozpin, listening in as he gave his speech. Darkness couldn't help but find it slightly nostalgic seeing the man frame himself as a hero again, still destined to fail in the end; mortals were quite cyclical like that.

"You, who collected the knight pieces, will henceforth be known as Team RYPJ, lead by Ruby Rose," Ozpin announced. **(pronounced "reaper")**

"Get ready Beacon," Yang said, cracking her knuckles, "You won't know what hit ya!" To illustrate her point, she socked Jaune in the shoulder, only for him to double over, and he would've fallen if not for Darkness quickly righting him back up

"You who collected the Rook pieces, will henceforth be known as Team BRWN, lead by Blake Belladonna." **(pronounced "brawn")**

"We're going to kick everyone's asses, aren't we?" Nora said, as she slung an arm around both Blake and Weiss, and pulled them in.

"Whatever you say," Blake said with a confused smile, while Weiss just rolled her eyes. Soon enough after that, Ozpin ended the ceremony, and told the students to go to the dormitories, where they could their individual room assignments.

"Wait!" Jaune said, "We're all sharing the same room?"

"Well obviously," Pyrrha said.

"But there's three of you and one of me," Jaune pointed. Pyrrha opened then closed her mouth.

"Ooooh," she said, as it finally clicked.

"Don't worry, Onsie Guy," Yang said, putting her hands behind her head, "I have a feeling it'll be alright."

"Its Jaune."

"Oh I know, I just don't care."As Jaune groaned, and the girls laughed, they all left the auditorium, as Darkness moved to follow them. However, before he did, the god paused, and looked back at Ozpin, and briefly considered what he was seeing.

" **Perhaps I should have done something with you before my brother did,"** Darkness mused, before turning to follow Jaune and his team.

 **Note: So we got the teams down: Team RYPJ (Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Jaune) with Team BRWN (Blake, Ren, Weiss, and Nora). And now that its done, I can finally do this:**

 _RYPJ CHIBI: Detonation Moon_

 _Darkness and Jaune were walking down the Beacon sidewalk when, when a question came to Jaune's mind._

" _Hey Darkness," he said, "I was wondering something."_

" _ ***sigh* I had a suspicion this question would arrive soon,"**_ _Darkness answered_ _ **, "Well, the meaning of life is…"**_

" _Oh no!" Jaune said quickly, "Not that." Darkness almost looked relieved._

" _ **What is your question?"**_

" _Why is moon like the way it is?" Darkness came to a halt._

" _ **Umm…,"**_ _he said._

" _I mean did a meteor crash into it, did some kind of earthquake happen?"_

" _ **Umm…"**_ _Jaune then gasped._

" _Was it aliens?" he asked, "Did they blow up the moon?" Darkness was silent for a second._

" _ **Yes, that is what happened,"**_ _he finally said. Jaune gasped again._

" _I've gotta tell everyone!" he declared, "Remnant must know!" He then ran off to spread the "word"._

" _ **Well, I cannot imagine that coming around to harm me again,"**_ _the god commented, as he briefly prayed to himself that it wouldn't._

 **Yep, from here on out, I will be doing a little short in RWBY Chibi style once per chapter, albeit with the characters and teams from this story. If anyone has any ideas or concepts they'd like to see put in, just let me know.**

 **Now if it wasn't implicit, Darkness was subconsciously prodding the teams towards each other. He can give and take life as easily as we flip a light switch on and off, so that's probably in the scope of his abilities.**

 **Sorry that you didn't get the proper battle with the Grimm, but I tried several different scenarios, but I couldn't get one that fully satisfied me down; I'm still figuring out how the teams would compliment each other, and how they'd interact in a battle. To that end, I decided to omit it entirely, opposed to work with one I wasn't happy with. Don't worry, you'll get some real action soon.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	5. First Day

_**First Day**_

It was decided that Team RYPJ would get some sleep before unpacking. It took a little planning and some promises of privacy from Jaune before the girls were really willing to undress and get changed with him in the room, though Jaune had seven sisters, and he understood very well how to live with girls in close quarters.

During the night, which was his domain, Darkness looked over the team. All in all, the girls seemed capable, and the god was confident Jaune would be well off with them. But one thing he was not confident about was Jaune's weapon; while he did have some understanding as to the boy's sentimental attach to the weapon, Darkness knew that as it was, it was not enough for him to become the warrior he clearly meant to be.

Strolling over to where Jaune had Crocea Mors, blade no longer in sheath, Darkness put his finger on the blade. He then swiped it across, releasing a slight burst of magic; while the blade itself remained mostly unchanged, an image of a dragon appeared on it, similar to Darkness' true form. Giving a satisfied nod, Darkness stepped back from it, and turned his attention back to the children.

Once that was done, Darkness was now left to mull over the presence of Ruby's silver eyes. He remembered that in their true forms, his brother had eyes of a similar color, and obviously had the power to destroy Darkness creations with impunity, but Darkness had not given much thought at the time; as far as he knew, no mortals had such features, or powers. Could Light have given humans an extra blessing without Darkness' knowledge? Darkness decided to believe that wasn't the case; despite their differences, and their feuds, they never lied to, nor hid anything from each other. But still….

Another, but arguably less prominent issue Darkness was pondering, was the matter of these Faunus creatures. Darkness distinctly remembered **not** creating them; as far as he knew, no such beings existed in their time.

Deciding to do some further research, Darkness sat crosslegged (insofar as he was floating a couple meters off the ground), and folded his hands. He then willed his mind into the past….

 **(the following morning)**

The rest of the night had been fairly peaceful to the team. Though when Jaune woke up, and saw the god sitting in mid-air.

 _What're you doing?_ he asked.

" **Meditating, I am scouring the history of this world,"** Darkness answered **, "Specifically the origins of the Faunus creatures."**

 _They, aren't 'creatures'_ Jaune said, somewhat irked by the god's choice of words.

" **You are all creatures to me."** Jaune tried not to sigh out loud.

 _You can see the past?_ he then asked.

" **In a manner of speaking,"** Darkness answered, as he floated to his feet **, "I can look into the past, but again, I cannot look for something if I do not know what to look for."**

 _I... guess that makes sense_ Jaune answered, as he went to go check on his weapon. When he did, he noticed the dragon that was now on the blade.

 _What the..._

 **"I imbued it with some of my own magic,"** Darkness explained **, "The true ability will become apparent soon, I am sure."**

 _You can't just do what you want with my property!_ Jaune snapped.

 **"I assumed you would be grateful. Your weapon received a great increase in power now that I enchanted it."**

 _Yeah but..._ It was a sentimental issue; Jaune didn't the idea of his family heirloom being tampered with like that, it didn't feel right. But on the other hand, he had to admit, Darkness was right; a simple blade like that wasn't going to be enough to be a huntsman. So he simply sucked it up for the time, and turned his attention to the showers. When he returned to the bedroom, the girls were all up, and in their uniforms.

"Good, your back," Ruby said with a smile, "We were about to start unpacking."

"Figured we'd all be here, so we could organize our things together, that way it'll be easier to divi up the space," Pyrrha said.

"Not a bad idea," Jaune agreed with a nod, as he went to get his own stuff. With that, the whole of Team RYPJ started unpacking.

Ruby didn't have much time to unpack when she shipped off to Beacon, so she only really brought a few of her basic necessities with her. On top of that, she didn't have that much to her name, aside from a few action figures, books, and comics. Yang had some more time to actually gather her things when she left, so her items consisted of a few posters, some books of her own, some video games, and some. Pyrrha also only had a few things to her name, including a picture of her family, a couple of her trophies from Mantle, and some more books.

Jaune didn't bring that many items of his own, aside from some photos of his family. Aside from the big family photo he had of him with his sisters, he also had one photo for each of them including their own families. Their children was part of the reason Jaune wanted to be come a huntsman in the first place; he really wanted to be the cool uncle for his nieces and nephews. He remembered when Adrian was born, for example, and how his mother had the entire family gather in Argus for the birth of the latest Arc grandchild. Seeing Saphron holding him in her arms gave Jaune quite a bit of perspective, and all the more motivation to be a huntsman. He also remembered his mother pestering him to give her some grandchildren too, but that wasn't either here nor there at the moment.

During all of this, Darkness was standing in his corner, watching the mortals mill about. He could not help but be reminded of the ants that his brother would create. He briefly considered revealing himself to Jaune's team, but decided that it would have been premature at the time.

"So, we got everything unpacked, right?" Ruby asked once everyone was done.

"Seems like it," Pyrrha said.

"What about the beds?" Jaune said.

"What _about_ the beds?" Yang responded. Jaune just pointed to the corner, where the dorm's beds were propped against the wall, Darkness hovering over them.

"Oh yeah," Ruby said, with a cringe.

"So, what do we do with them?" Jaune asked. There was a period of silence as the the team considered the options.

"Bunk beds?" Ruby suggested.

"Bunk beds?" Jaune asked.

"Bunk beds," Pyrrha answered with a shrug.

"Bunk beds," Yang said firmly. After some time of improvisation and a little imagination, the team had set up their bunk beds; to the degree they could be called bunkbeds. Ruby's bed was haphazardly suspended over Jaune's by the ceiling, while Pyrrha's was not so stably placed on Yang's bedpost, kept together by tape. As Team RYPJ looked on at their handiwork, the resident god did not look impressed.

" **Truly, you are using my brother's gift to its absolute greatest potential,"** Darkness said sarcastically.

"Those don't look entirely stable," Jaune said nervously.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Onsie Guy," Yang said with a nod, "If the beds crash, we'll pull you out." Somehow that didn't make Jaune feel very assured. Taking pity on him, Darkness waved his hand briefly, creating an enchantment that bound the beds in place.

Team RYPJ's attention was then seized by the sound of the door opening. They then turned to see Weiss burst through the door, slamming it behind her, a rather terrified look on her face.

"Weiss?" Pyrrha asked.

"Princess?" Yang asked. The Schnee was not at all in the mood to protest the nicknames, as she pressed her back against the door.

"Sanctuary," she said, "I request sanctuary."

"What're you talking about?" Pyrrha inquired.

"I couldn't remain in there for another second," Weiss said, as she slid to the ground, "Its like a damn circus in that room."

"I like circuses," Ruby said.

"So do I," Jaune agreed.

"Then switch teams with me," Weiss said, as she dragged her hand across her face.

"I'm pretty sure you can't switch teams once they've been established," Jaune said.

"Oh, why are the gods so cruel?" Weiss moaned, briefly banging her head against the door.

" **I am not cruel."**

 _Well you aren't that nice either…._

" **If I were cruel, our current situation would be** _ **infinitely**_ **different."**

"You know," Pyrrha said, as she knelt down in front of Weiss, "You can't keep running from your team, let alone your partner."

"You don't get it," Weiss said, shaking her head slightly, "Between Nora's constant hyperactivity and Ren's refusal to do anything about it, I feel like I've been dosed by something. But the worst is our so called leader."

"How's that?" Yang inquired, cocking her head.

"My mere existence seems to slight her," Weiss said, "It seems with every step I take, I'm committing some sort of unspeakable offense against humanity."

"I can go talk to her," Ruby said, "You know, leader to leader."

"You may as well be talking to a cat the way she listens," Weiss said with a sigh.

"Well, I'm sure it'll get better," Pyrrha said, offering Weiss a hand to help her up, "Come on, we gotta to get to class. Grimm studies is first."

" **Ah, this may be somewhat interesting to observe,"** Darkness said.

 **(in the classroom)**

" **I was incorrect,"** Darkness said. This professor that was teaching the class, when he wasn't going on strange tangents, was blabbing consistently incorrect information about Darkness creations. Though he was slightly amused by how they were called "Creatures of the Grimm", Darkness never actually called the creations anything in particular, having never bothered to give them names. They were merely avatars of destruction, no more, no less, so there was no reason to.

But knowing that there wasn't anyway the mortals could know the truth at this point, Darkness tried not to get too frustrated, as he kept his position in the back of the classroom, watching Jaune and his team do their best to pay attention. Most of them seemed to be only paying partial attention; Ruby in particular seemed to be struggling to stay awake; to that end, Darkness snapped his fingers, sending a brief impulse her way to keep her away, which seemed to work. He then glanced at Team BRWN, noticing that the only one who seemed to be taking diligent notes was Weiss.

"Now, is there any soul brave enough to face down the beast?" the professor, who Darkness remembered was known as "Port", suddenly said. Darkness glanced down to look at a cage, where a "Grimm" was, specifically one the mortals called a "Boarbatusk". In what he had to admit was a moment of pettiness, Darkness had based his creations on the beasts his brother created; a smaller way of spiting him. He supposed to that end it wasn't too much of a surprise the humans gave them their own names as such.

"I will" Weiss declared, raising her hand. Darkness looked down, considering her briefly. From what he observed earlier, she was definitely capable, and had no doubt that she would have little trouble with this lesser creation.

"Go for it Weiss!" Nora declared, "We believe in you!" Weiss just rolled her eyes and after getting changed, took her place in front of the cage.

"Are you…" Port couldn't finish as Darkness willed the cage to open, shocking most of the class, including the teacher. But Darkness knew that in real life, you didn't have time to get read, and the students needed to understand that. Weiss let out a slight gasp as she instinctively dove out of the way.

"Don't worry Weiss!" Nora said, "Just stay focused!" Darkness may not have been omniscient, but he did not need to be to notice how annoyed she clearly was by the orange haired girls encouragement. She held up her rapier, and as the Grimm charged again, she sidestepped it, slashing at it slightly.

"Let's go Weiss! Let's go!" Nora cheered, causing Weiss to get even more irritated.

The fight continued on for a couple more minutes, with Nora continuing to cheer, and Weiss growing increasingly more annoyed, until she finally snapped at her. That gave the Grimm a chance to knock her down; and while she may not have been in any real danger with the teacher present, Darkness sighed, shaking his head slightly. Despite himself, he took pity on the child, and with that, Darkness waved his hand. The Boarbatusk shifted its movements slightly, causing it to run headfirst into the wall, much to the confusion of the class, save Jaune, who shot a brief glance at the god, who simply shrugged.

It gave Weiss the chance to strike, as she launched forward. The Boarbatusk only had time to look up as she put her rapier through its eyes, slaying it immediately. Darkness nodded slightly, otherwise satisfied with her performance. But he noticed Weiss trudge her way back to her desk, and face down, clearly not feeling the same way.

"Unfortunately that was the only Grimm I had on hand, so we'll resolve class early," Port said, "Take this as an opportunity to reflect on your goals as Huntsman, and maybe you'll one day have adventures like I have." As the class filed out, Ruby turned to Jaune.

"You should'a fought it," she said, "You could've taken it no problem, seeing how none of the Grimm in the forest could even touch you."

"Somehow I don't think dodging is the same thing as avoiding," Jaune answered with a slight sweat drop.

 _RYPJ Chibi:_ _A Gift from the Gods_

 _Darkness looked through the room Team RYPJ was housing, as the team was out for class. Finding nothing of interest, he decided to a pay a visit to Team BRWN's room, hoping to find at least something else_

" _ **How interesting,"**_ _he mused as he looked through the book. Then he came across the centerfold in the middle, and had to do a double take._

" _ **I do not remember this,"**_ _he muttered. Right then, in a brief wink of light, the God of Light was suddenly standing next to him._

" _ **Are you still mulling around here?"**_ _he asked._

" _ **Was this your doing, Brother?"**_ _Darkness just asked, showing him the picture, as Light took a look._

" _ **Yes, it was as a matter of fact,"**_ _he answered with a nod and a shrug_ _ **, "Why?"**_

" _ **I should be asking you that."**_

" _ **It was an additional gift to humanity."**_ _Darkness absorbed that information for a moment._

" _ **I believe I am starting to understand why they favored you over me so much,"**_ _Darkness said._

 **Note: Don't be mistaken by this snippet** _ **RYPJ Chibi**_ **, the God of Light won't be appearing much in the actual story for a while. This is kind of like how** _ **RWBY Chibi**_ **brought both Pyrrha and Penny back for the various whacky adventures. Also, something I like is the idea that the gods' dragon forms are their true forms, and that the humanoid forms are merely ones they take as a way of not overwhelming humans whenever they appear. I think it gives a little extra flare.**

 **This chapter was more about the first part than the second part, since the conflict between Ruby and Weiss that the main series had obviously isn't present in this storyline. But there is obviously conflict building with Weiss and the rest of her team. That said, this story offers some comparably different issues, as Team RYPJ doesn't have the same issues that Team RWBY did when it comes to getting along and working together; its not a spoiler to say that they have no trouble getting along. That's not to say they won't have problems of their own as the story continues.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Let me take this an opportunity for a little tidbit.**

 **Something that bothers me somewhat about** _ **RWBY**_ **is the Faunus; not the race itself, but rather how the story uses them. They primarily only exist to be a victims of persecution and when you think about it, we see the Faunus being the aggressors more than the victims; we only get maybe a couple real scenes that demonstrate real prejudice. To that end, they began to appear less as real victims, and more as a group acting like victims to justify their own wrongdoing. If anything, they seem to be created more as a foil to humans more than anything else, just to be the discrimination victims. This trope (which I'm going to call "Informed Victim"), I notice is fairly prevalent in settings like this.**

 **Now, don't get me wrong, prejudice and discrimination definitely do exist and they need to be confronted where they do. However, when you have a group or identity in a work of fiction that only exists to be the victims, and you dedicate long periods of time to hammering it in, it starts becoming preachy, and it quickly (at least in my opinion) loses its impact. The Informed Victims loses their identity as characters, and they become solely definable as the victim, not much more of them is left. That's the problem with the Faunus; their only defining characteristic behind their appearance is that their victims, they have no unique culture or trait that sets them apart. I guess you could argue that's the idea, that the actual differences are so minute that the persecution is otherwise pointless, but just portraying them as the victims isn't good storytelling.**

 **Well, anyway, let's just sa Darkness**


	6. The Bully vs the God

_**The Bully vs the God**_

Lunch couldn't have come too soon; he wasn't sure if it was because he had possessed by a god, but something about the day was sapping his energy a lot faster than normal. Jaune sighed as he took his tray, and looked for the rest of his team. Darkness walked beside him, overlooking the dining hall; once again, looking at the teenagers, he was reminded of his brother's small creations milling about.

"Over here, Onsie Guy!" Yang called, waving from her table with the rest of the group. Jaune had since gotten used to that nickname (he had a feeling Yang realized that, which meant a new one was probably on the way), as he made his way to the table.

"You were pretty good in class today, Weiss," Pyrrha said, leaning over the table.

"Of course she's good, she's my partner after all" Nora chirped, as she slugged Weiss in the shoulder a little harder than she may have should, causing the heiress to rub it slightly.

"I bet my partner would've done pretty good too," Ruby said, elbowing Jaune slightly, "You should've seen him during the initiation."

"Don't oversell it," Jaune answered.

"You didn't have any trouble avoiding those Grimm in the forest," Ruby said. That was true, he didn't, but it was because the creator of the Grimm had given him a blessing that prevents any of them from even being able to touch him. That wasn't the same thing as being good. Jaune just kept his eyes on his tray, as he messed with his food with his fork. That caused his teammates to look at him with some concern, but the sound of commotion nearby seized their attention.

A classmate of their's, Cardin Winchester, was yanking on the ear of a Faunus girl, whom they remembered was named Velvet. They didn't know either of them very well, but all of them scowled at seeing it. Blake, however, looked down quickly, and started poking at her food. As for one of the two creators of Remnant….

If Darkness had a stomach, it would be turning at the moment. Again, Darkness did not consider himself cruel; harsh perhaps, but never cruel. Much to the contrary, abject cruelty sickened him; all that created was pain and suffering, which he did not enjoy inflicting, despite the reputation he may have had. Deciding to take a proactive stance, he jerked his head slightly. A piece of fruit then took off from the table, and struck Cardin in the side of the head, causing him to let go of Velvet, after which she quickly left.

"Who did that!" Cardin snapped, standing up. He looked in the direction of RYPJ and BRWN, and decided one of them was the guilty party. He then marched right over, and quickly selected who he wanted to be his "assailant".

"I don't like the look of you," Cardin said, as he grabbed Jaune's collar, and hoisted him up, "You got a problem?"

"No!" Jaune quickly said.

"Well, someone thrw that at me," Cardin said, narrowing his eyes as he clenched his free fist, "What say we just call it you?"

"Hey punk!" Cardin looked over to see Yang and Pyrrha both standing up, staring him down.

"You messing with my teammate?" Yang hissed.

"So what if I am?" Cardin responded, turning his glare to her.

"Because if you don't stop, the only thing you'll be having for lunch is my gunpowder," Yang said, cracking her knuckles for extra measure. Cardin glanced around and noticed most of the people at the table glaring at him; realizing he was outnumbered, he just scoffed, and took his leave after setting Jaune down.

"Jerk," Ruby grumbled as he left.

 _Thanks for that, Darkness_ Jaune said, briefly glaring at his tenant.

" **You were obviously in no real peril."**

"You didn't need to do that," Jaune then said to his team.

"Hey, no one picks on my teammate, except me," Yang said as she tussled his hair slightly, causing Jaune to push her away and for the others to laugh.

 **(in Beacon arena)**

After lunch, they had sparring practice, and for the most part, it went well for Team RYPJ. Yang and Ruby both had their chance and while Yang trounced her opponent, Ruby went up against Ren, which was actually took some time, and ultimately ended up in a draw with the clock ran out. That said, Darkness noted that if the battle wound out, he believed Ruby would ultimately win due to her superior speed. Of course, that was when the next match set up: Jaune and Cardin.

"Oh dear gods," Jaune muttered.

" **Yes?"** Darkness answered.

 _Did you do this?_

" **I freely admit I am not fond of that mortal,"** the god continued **, "But such a thing does not hold my interest."** Jaune just groaned.

"Don't worry, Jaune," Pyrrha said, patting him on the shoulder, "I'm sure you'll be fine."

" **You have nothing to fear,"** Darkness said **, "I will remain by your side."**

 _Providing moral support I presume?_

" **Among other things."** Jaune just rolled his eyes at the god as he made his way down to the arena, his weapons ready. As he drew the sword, he looked at the dragon carving again. Throughout the day, nothing about it had seemed different, and Jaune still did not understand what Darkness had done to it. Cardin showed up soon after, his mace at the ready, and a rather eager grin on his face.

"I've been looking forward to this," he sneered, "No, you actually going to fight me like a man, or just hide behind girls again?"

" **Curious he says that when those girls could probably defeat him quite easily,"** Darkness commented, as he stood beside Jaune. Yang must've been thinking something similar, as she shouted something at him.

"Begin!" Goodwitch then shouted, barely giving Jaune time to mentally prepare as he had to dodge a quick strike. Despite his size, Cardin was fairly quick on his feet, and unfortunately, Cardin wasn't a Grimm, meaning Jaune actually had to use his, not bad, but not great dodging skills.

"You can do it, Jaune!" Ruby said as she put one foot on the railing as she pumped her fist for her partner. Jaune had some serious doubts, as he kept trying to avoid or block Cardin's attacks. As he did, he noticed Darkness passively watching, with his arms folded behind his back as they often war. Though he really wanted to, Jaune knew that he couldn't ask the god for much, so he kept trying to fight.

"He's not doing well," Yang said as she leaned forward in her seat.

"I know," Pyrrha said, "At least he is good at dodging."

"Told ya!" Ruby said, still smiling, determined to be positive.

Once again, Jaune managed to avoid another attack, but Cardin reacted faster for a moment, and managed to elbow him in the gut, knocking him to the ground. The blond looked up to see Cardin grinning as he swung his mace down. Jaune heard more than a few voices calling his name, as he instinctively swung up his own weapon. The sword then collided with Cardin's mace, only for the mace to shatter once it did in a burst of dark energy.

"What the…," several people asked at once, save Cardin himself, who was too surprised to even say anything. Jaune got to his feet and stepped back as he looked at his sword. The dragon carving was glowing.

"Is this…"

" **This is the enchantment that I placed on your weapon,"** Darkness answered as he appeared beside Jaune **, "Your blade is now imbued with my own power. Anything it touches, it destroys."** Despite himself, Jaune was more than a little impressed by the power Crocea Mars now had; even Ruby would probably be envious of this, and she was.

"I didn't know his sword could do that!" she said, as she started jumping up and down while still leaning on the railing, while her eyes sparkled.

"How does his weapon even do that?" Weiss said, surprised by that, "Is there some kind of technology in it?"

"Maybe there's some kind of dust imbedded in it?" Nora suggested with a shrug.

"Well," Goodwitch said, as she also looked rather surprised, "Seeing as Mr. Winchester's weapon is no longer functional, I think we'll call the match over. Well done, both of you."

"I guess," Jaune muttered as he started making his way back to the seats, as he kept looking over his blade.

 **(sometime later on the roof)**

The day eventually round to a close, and Team RYPJ and the god were hanging out in their room in the last few hours before they had to go to bed. Ruby was playing a game on her scroll, Yang was reading a magazine on motorcycles, Pyrrha was writing in her journal, Jaune was reading a book, and Darkness was sitting the corner meditating again.

"I'm going out for a walk," Jaune said, "I need to clear my head."

"Just be sure to get back before curfew," Pyrrha said, glancing up briefly.

"You know it," Jaune answered, as he left. Darkness followed him as he did.

 _Hey, Darkness, thanks for what you did_ Jaune said.

" **No thanks are required,"** Darkness answered **, "I merely did what I believed to be necessary."** They made their way to the roof, where Jaune figured he could be alone with his thoughts (gods not withstanding), but to his surprise, Blake was there too.

"Hey," Jaune said, waving, "What's up?" Blake looked back at him.

"Oh, hey," she said, "Nothing much I suppose." Jaune stood next to her by the railing.

"Its really nice in night, isn't it?" he said.

"Yes it is," Blake answered with a nod. Well, Jaune's first attempt at small talk just failed, so he tried a different topic.

"So, how's things in Team BRWN?" he asked. Blake was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"I do my best as the leader," she said, "But its not easy with these people. Nora's more than a handful, and Ren doesn't do much to stop her, but its the hardest with Weiss."

"Really?" Jaune asked, remembering when Weiss burst into their room to get away from Blake, "How so?"

"She always walks as if she owns everything in the room, and that we need her permission to do everything," Blake said, "I shudder to think how she'd be as a leader herself."

"Well, I wish I knew what to say," Jaune said, "But something tells me she wouldn't listen to me."

"She barely listens to me, so that's not very hard to believe," Blake said with a slight chuckle. As they talked, Darkness was watching Blake closely; he realized almost immediately that she was a Faunus, though he wasn't sure why she was hiding. In his "studies", he hadn't learned much about their origins, but he did have some idea of their history; they were oppressed group in this world, and that was about all Darkness could really determine about them at the time. He would have to do further research.

"I'm going back to my room," Blake eventually said, as she turned to leave, "See you tomorrow."

"You too," Jaune said with a wave, as he was left alone with Darkness.

 _Hey, Darkness_ he said _Can I ask you a question?_

" **Depends."**

 _When creating humanity, did you give us the ability to hate? Or did you just come to us naturally?_

" **My brother and I gave you base emotions,"** Darkness answered **, "How those emotions developed, however, we did not involve ourselves in."** Jaune winced at that, before taking a breath.

"Well, well, small world ain't it?" Jaune looked behind him, and noticed Cardin climbing up the ladder to his level.

"Oh u, hey Cardin," Jaune said nervously, as he tried to take a step back only to back fully into the railing "How's it going?"

"How the hell do you think its going?" Cardin demanded as he advanced, "You broke my mace!"

"I can get it fixed!" Jaune said, waving his hands.

"I don't care what you do," Cardin said as he heaved Jaune up by the collar, "You need to pay for what you did…"

"I…"

"No more girls or magic swords to protect you now," Cardin hissed, as he pulled his fist back, "I'm going to enjoy this even more."

" **I would advise against that."** Cardin froze as he looked around.

"Who said that?" he asked.

" **Look up."** He did just that to see a towering, dark being with horns and no face, looming behind Jaune. The being then leaned down towards him.

" **Begone you pathetic cretin."** Cardin could only stare at the being for a time, as he opened his mouth to scream, before he passed out. Needless to say, Jaune was also rather taken aback by the sight of what just happened.

 _Did you…_

" **All I did was briefly manifest before him,"** Darkness answered **, "It may as well have just been an illusion."**

 _You said you aren't going to show yourself to anyone!_

" **Relax,"** Darkness responded **, "He will simply assume it was a nightmare, but will likely avoid you nonetheless."** Jaune looked to argue more, but then remembered that he had saved him from probably a pretty serious beating. He just looked at the ground, before making his way back to his room.

" **What is done is done, boy,"** Darkness answered as he followed him **, "The best thing for you to do at this point is to simply continue on as you have until now."**

 _You know, you keep on saying that_ Jaune responded _But how can I go on normally while you're always looming over me?_

" **I cannot tell you,"** Darkness answered **, "The path you walk on is your own, and it is your responsibility to forge it."**

 _Why are you so hard to argue with?_

" **Because I am normally correct."**

 _RYPJ Chibi:_ _The Official Game_

 _While in their dorms, Ruby and Yang both tightened their faces as their fingers danced across the game controllers._

" _I got you now, Yang!" Ruby said._

" _Don't you get cocky now, Baby Sis!" Yang countered. As they kept on jousting in the virtual world, Pyrrha walked over._

" _Hey guys, what's going on?" she asked._

" _We just got this brand new game," Yang answered._

" _Its one of the best we've ever played," Ruby said, "Its really exciting. Its based on taking famous hunters from the real world and fighting as them."_

" _Ruby's quickly figured which characters is her favorite," Yang said with a wink at her sister. Pyrrha, while not that into video games, leaned down in curiosity to see what exactly it was they were playing._

" _Oh dear gods!" Pyrrha cried as her face turned the same color of her hair. Darkness, who was still investigating Blake's book, looked up briefly, before returning his attention to the book. Yang and Ruby looked up just to see Pyrrha bolt out of the room._

" _You know in hindsight, we probably should've seen this coming," Ruby said, as she picked up the game case, which said_ Pyrrha Nikos: The Official Game _._

" _So Pyrrha's you're favorite character," Yang noted, "Is there something you want to tell me, baby sis?_

 **Note: That** _ **RYPJ Chibi**_ **may have been simple, but I really liked it.**

 **What I** didn't **like is the Cardin arc in the series. While I understand that it was a major point of character for Jaune. In the broader sense, I don't like Cardin as a character; mostly because he has very little identity other than the bullying, and exists mostly to fulfill that role, and disappear once its done. Characters like that, who only exist to a brief foil or stumbling block for a character and have no other traits, bug me. To that end, I cleared that arc very quickly with the assistance of our resident deity.**

 **Speaking of which, let me also say that I view the God of Darkness as not an evil being, but more of a balance to the God of Light; you can't have one without the other. Think of the wildfire that clears away an old forest so that a new forest can grow in its place.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	7. Meet Penny

_**Meet Penny**_

It had been a couple weeks since Jaune had come to Beacon, and things had been progressing fairly slowly. Classes on Grimm had been easy, mostly because whenever the time came for Jaune to take on a Grimm, Darkness' enchantment had kicked in, and prevented them from hitting them. On top of that, with his magically enhanced blade, blessed by the Incarnate of Destruction himself, he could defeat any Grimm with a single hit. All the students were talking about him, and how good he was at these classes. It made him feel like total crap.

None of what Jaune was accomplishing was because of anything he did, or was able to do. It was all thanks to Darkness' own intervention, and if he wasn't here anymore, Jaune knew for a fact that he wouldn't have gotten anywhere in Beacon. None of this made him feel better about being here, it only made him feel worse.

There was the also matter of practice. Jaune was now forbidden from engaging in battle practice with other students without intense precaution and supervision. On top of that, sparring with his team had to be done with dummy swords, since the danger of Jaune losing control of Crocea Mors went without saying. Not to mention Ruby was predictably freaked out about the possibility Crescent Rose being destroyed in a spar.

As for Darkness, the god would mostly spend his time watching, while on occasion giving Jaune a slight hint on a question, or redirecting a Grimm if it was coming at someone Darkness happened to like. He also spent a large amount of time meditating, still searching for answers for the question; he made little progress regarding the silver eyes, but found out more about the Faunus.

From what he learned by gazing into the past, humans and Faunus had a hostile relationship, with the former enslaving and oppressing the latter. The Faunus response had been predictably violent, and something Darkness could not help but find rather amusing was the fact that they believed their pain justified inflicting pain on others. It seemed that Faunus had all the same flaws as humans, though that still made Darkness wonder about their origin; they were far more alike to humans than different.

At the moment, Team RYPJ was currently making through the city streets towards the docks. Apparently, Pyrrha's family was coming into town, and the teen wanted to introduce her team to them herself. As they walked through the town, they could see preparations for the Vytal Festival under way. Darkness floated over them, getting a better view of the area.

" **You mortals always seem to be celebrating something,"** he commented, though he was ignored.

"I can't wait for you to meet them," Pyrrha said, "I bet they're going to love you guys."

"So why are they coming?" Ruby asked.

"Well, according to my mom, they booked their tickets early to avoid the crowds," Pyrrha answered, "she also said that they just wanted to see me early and meet my teammates."

"I've always wondered what's its like living in Mistral, with all those mountains and stuff," Ruby said.

"Actually, we live in Argus," Pyrrha corrected.

"Argus?" Yang said, "I thought you grew up in Mistral."

"I was born in Mistral, I grew up and trained in Argus."

"You know my sister lives in Argus too with her wife and son," Jaune said.

"Really?" Pyrrha asked, looking back, "What's her name? Maybe I've met her."

"Saphron Arc. Though I guess now its Saphron Cotta-Arc now." He remembered his parents weren't ecstatic when the "Arc" came after the "Cotta". Upon hearing that, Pyrrha looked back in surprise.

"Really?" she asked, "Saphon Cotta-Arc is your sister?"

"You know her?"

"Before I came to Beacon, I would babysit her son, Adrian."

"That's my nephew."

"I didn't know you had a nephew," Ruby said, "Or a sister."

"Actually, I have _seven_ sisters," Jaune admitted, "All older than me."

"Wow, I can't imagine having that many big sisters," Ruby said, "Having one is hard enough."

"Careful there, baby sis," Yang said, as she yanked on Ruby's hood slightly.

"Sorry," Ruby answered.

"Team RYPJ!" a familiar peppy voice called out. The team turned to see Nora coming up to them, with the rest of Team BRWN not far behind her.

"Fancy meeting you here," Nora said with her normal huge grin.

"Hey guys!" Ruby said, "What're you doing here?"

"Weiss insisted we come down here," Ren answered, "She said we needed to observe the festival preparations."

" **Neither I, nor my brother, could have engineered such a coincidence if we tried"** Darkness commented.

"It cannot be understated how important it is that we observe this festival," Weiss declared, "Its a symbol of unity, and cooperation amongst kingdoms. All the academies will be coming to participate in a competition of strength and ability."

" **It appears that she greatly enjoys the sound of herself speaking,"** Darkness said.

 _That's pretty funny coming from you_ Jaune responded.

"Leave it to you to make something sound boring," Yang said, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Oi," Weiss quipped, "Quiet you."

"So, what're you here for?" Blake asked.

"My family's coming into town," Pyrrha answered, "I was hoping to introduce them."

"Meeting the Nikos family," Weiss mused, "I suppose one of them is your agent?"

"Actually no," Pyrrha said after a moment's hesitation, "I have a different person as an agent. Of course she would have my agent's number…."

"Then I wish to meet her as well," Weiss declared, "Don't worry Pyrrha, we'll be giving you new show business jobs in no time."

"There's really no need for that," Pyrrha said with a slight sweat drop. During this talk, Ruby's eyes had wandered, as she noticed what looked like a police area at one of the shops.

"Hey, look at that," Ruby said, pointing.

"I wonder what's going on over there," Jaune said, as he stood next to Ruby.

"It reminds me of what first got me here to Beacon," she said, "I helped top this thug named Roman."

"How'd that get you into Beacon?" Blake asked.

"It got the attention of Professor Ozpin," Ruby answered, "Next thing I know I'm on the airship, getting crushed by Yang."

"From here it looks like more than just a thug operation," Jaune said.

"I'd bet my bottom lien that it was the White Fang," Weiss said, folding her arms.

" **Ah yes, the White Fang."**

 _You know about them?_

" **I learned about them in my meditations on your world's history,"** Darkness explained **, "They are not a group I particularly approve of."**

 _Really, why?_ Jaune asked. He wasn't especially fond of the White Fang himself, but he could definitely understand some of the problems they probably had.

" **There is no goal to their acts of destruction, it is merely concerned with burning down human institutions that they believe are wronging Faunus is some way, with no regard as to what the consequences might be; nothing more than wanton destruction."**

 _I thought you were the god of destruction._

" **What I represent is balanced destruction, destruction with an end; the wildfire that burns down the old forest so a new one may grow in its place. Destruction with no goal other than destruction, is merely chaos,"** Darkness responded **, "Something I have observed about mortals in the eons I have existed, was that they have a tendency to assume that because of the pain they suffered, that they have an inherent right to inflict similar suffering on others."** As Jaune listened to the god, he tried to find fault in what Darkness was saying, but found it rather hard.

"What makes you so sure?" Blake said, shooting Weiss a look.

"Looking around, that's what," Weiss retorted, "What other group has such tactics? The White Fang is insane, plain and simple."

"They aren't psychopaths," Blake said, "They're misguided."

"They want to wipe out the human race!" Weiss protested.

"Okay, so they're very misguided," Blake responded.

"This seems a little small for them," Pyrrha said, "Besides, wouldn't they want to make some kind of show about it?"

"Exactly."

"Come on Weiss," Nora said, "chill out."

"You're my partner," Weiss said, "You're supposed to be on my side. The White Fang are just liars and thieves!"

"While I don't support the White Fang," Yang said, "Not all Faunus are like that."

"Hey, someone stop that lying, thieving Faunus!" someone yelled. Everyone turned to see a blonde with a yellow monkey tail running down the road.

 _Did you manipulate that?_ Jaune asked Darkness.

" **While it was indeed amusing, I did not."**

"After him!" Weiss declared, as she started chasing the Faunus.

"Wait!" Blake said as she chased after her.

"Well, that's half of our team," Nora said as she followed.

"Make that three quarters," Ren grumbled as he followed as well, leaving Team RYPJ.

"Should we follow them?" Jaune asked them.

"I just got a text from my mom that their airship was delayed," Pyrrha said, looking up from her scroll.

"Eh, why not?" Ruby answered to Jaune, as they all went after Team BRWN. Darkness just calmly walked after them. The teams did their best to get after the Faunus boy, but in the density of the crowd, they soon lost sight of them.

"I think he went this way!" Weiss declared as she elbowed her way through the people.

"Slow down!" Blake said as she tried to do the same.

"This is a really bad idea!" Yang said as she tried to hack her way through the crowds. After what felt like a lot of that, the crowd spat out four people: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Jaune.

"Where's everyone else?" Ruby asked.

"Who cares?" Weiss said, "Look there's the thug!" She then kept chasing the Faunus as Blake chased her, and the remaining two just groaned at did the same.

"I think he went this way!" Weiss said as she rounded a corner, "Fol…"

*WHAM

Weiss slammed face first into what felt like a metal pole as she fell to the ground like a bag of cement.

"Weiss!" Jaune said as the other's came up, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Weiss answered, rubbing her head, "If not for this pole I would've caught him."

"Uh, Weiss…," Ruby said.

"What?" Ruby just pointed, as Weiss looked down and saw the "pole" was a girl with short orange hair with a pink bow. She wore a whitish-gray blouse with short gray overalls with a black and green collar and stockings of the same collar.

"Salutations!" the girl said, grinning from ear to ear.

" **What is this thing?"** Darkness said, as he recoiled slightly from the sight of girl.]

"Um, hi," Ruby said.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked.

"I'm wonderful. Thank you for asking."

"So," Jaune said, "Are you going to get up or something?" The girl seemed to process that for a moment, before nodding.

"Yes!" She then leapt to her feet as everyone took a step back.

"My name is Penny, it is a pleasure to meet you all."

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"I'm Jaune."

"Its a pleasure to meet you all," Penny said.

"Didn't you just say that?" Weiss said. Penny paused again, as if again processing that information.

"Yes I did." Jaune tried not to chuckle at her.

" **Abomination."** Jaune looked over to see that Darkness seemed to be looking straight at Penny. Despite him not having actual facial features, the base contours of his face were contorted in what could best be described as pure rage.

 _What was that?_

" **This… thing is an abomination,"** Darkness said **, "Nothing more than a pale imitation of the creations my brother and I forged together with our own hands; it is an insult to all our work and efforts."**

 _What are you talking about?_ As far as Jaune could tell, Penny was just any other girl. But Darkness clearly didn't see it that way, as he held up his hand, which became cloaked in what looked like dark fire.

" **Step aside, so that I may smite it from existence,"** Darkness coldly instructed. Jaune wasn't sure what to do without looking very weird to all those assembled in front of her.

 _You promised that you couldn't do anything directly in this world!_ He wasn't bothering to wonder what the god had against Penny.

" **No, I said would not."**

 _Isn't that the same thing?_

" **It does not mean I was ever forbidden from doing anything. What am I doing now is cleansing this world of anathema, a necessary act."**

 _Well, then think of how it might look if Penny were to suddenly disintegrate in front of everyone._

" **Why should I concern myself with such a thing?"**

 _Because… Because… Because what would be the point of it? Didn't you say that you didn't approve of wanton destruction. Penny's not doing anything wrong, she's just existing. Besides, you said your brother gave humanity the gift of creation; aren't we using it to the fullest extent by creating someone like Penny?_ Again, Jaune had no idea what Darkness had been talking about, as there didn't seem to be anything at all strange about the girl. But Darkness was silent for a time, before he slowly lowered his hand.

" **The abomination will continue, for now."** Jaune let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Well, sorry for running into you," Weiss said, as she and the others turned to leave.

"Take care, friend," Ruby said with a wave, as they left Penny behind.

"Great, and now we lost half of our team," Weiss grumbled.

"Well maybe if you hadn't gone chasing after the Faunus…," Blake said.

"What did you say?" Penny said as she somehow appeared right in front of them to everyone's shock. The girl then advanced on Ruby and got in her face.

"Am I really your friend?" she asked.

"Uh…" Ruby glanced over at her friends, and noticed Blake waving her arms "no", Weiss making a "cut it out" gesture, and Jaune giving two thumbs down. Darkness briefly considered making Ruby say "no", but figured he'd tampered with the minds of these mortals enough.

"Sure," Ruby decided, "Why not?" While her friends collapsed in exasperation, Darkness just shook his head slightly.

"Sensational!" Penny declared, pumping her fists, "We can…." As she started listing various "girl" things, Jaune looked up at Darkness.

 _What was so weird about her?_ he asked.

" **This girl is not human or Faunus,"** Darkness answered **, "She is… artificial."**

 _What do you…_ Darkness waved his hand, allowing Jaune to see Penny for what she was. Instead of a organs, blood, or even a skeleton, inside of her were twisting wires and metal pieces. It didn't take long for Jaune to realize what she was.

 _She's… an android?_

" **Like I said, she is a pale imitation of humanity,"** Darkness said **, "An abomination."** Fortunately, though, the god didn't try to and wipe Penny out again.

"Look," Weiss said, as she imposed herself between Ruby and Penny, "If you're here you might as well help us. Did you see a Faunus thug going about here?"

"Faunus thug?" Penny echoed.

"Will you stop calling him that!" Blake snapped before anyone could say anything.

"Pardon?"

"Calling him names and demeaning him like that," Blake said.

"Is it so wrong for me to call him what he is?" Weiss responded.

"He's a person!"

"He's a criminal!" As the two girls continued arguing, Jaune and Ruby were left very awkwardly standing beside them, both suddenly very thankful that the girls weren't on their team. Fortunately saving came in the form of a peppy orange haired girl.

"Hey guys!" Nora's voiced suddenly called, waving. Behind here were the remaining members of RYPJ and BRWN.

"Where were you?" Jaune asked.

"Looking for you," Yang answered, "Thanks for sticking together."

"Sorry 'bout that," Ruby said, "Just glad you're here now."

"We should probably head back," Jaune said.

"Where are we going?" Penny asked cheerfully.

" **Yes, let us return, what little patience I have left for this thing is quickly fading."**

 _RYPJ Chibi_ _: Humanity's Greatest Creation_

 _Jaune was all to happy for the day be over as he opened the door to the room, and noticed Darkness sitting in the air, reading a book._

" _I didn't know you read," he said. Darkness ignored him, and when the blonde took a closer look, he noticed what the book was._

" _Is that smut you're reading?" Jaune asked. This time Darkness stopped, as he snapped it shot._

" _ **This is the greatest contribution humanity has ever made to existence!"**_ _he then suddenly declared, holding up the book_ _ **, "This is the reason my brother gave you the gift of creation! This is why he brought you back after I destroyed you!"**_

" _What was that?" Jaune asked, blinking in surprise. Darkness passed as he seemed to realize what he just said._

" _ **About your great contribution?"**_

" _No, the other thing." There was a period of very awkward silence as Darkness stared at Jaune._

" _ **One moment,"**_ _Darkness said, as he snapped his fingers briefly. Jaune blinked for a moment._

" _What was I doing?" he asked._

" _ **Leaving,"**_ _Darkness answered, as he turned his attention back to the book. Jaune, figuring Darkness was probably right as well always, did exactly that._

 **Note: I imagine like a deity would feel quite slighted by mortals creating a being like Penny (sort of a mimic of life), and I feel Darkness and Light would be no exceptions to that.**

 **In Chapter 9 of Vol 6, we see a person who is obviously related to Pyrrha. Guesses include that she's Pyrrha's mom, aunt, sister, with some people are going so far as to say that she's actually Pyrrha herself. Now I'm hesitant to commit to anything with that (I know Jen Brown said that Pyrrha's dead, but I would be completely unsurprised if she just outright lied about it), so I'm probably going to avoid that character for the time being.**

 **I figured this was implicit, but while the blessings Darkness is giving him may help him out, its not helping Jaune's confidence. I've got an inferiority complex myself, as well as confidence issues, so I can understand how it can feel to be surrounded by people who may be doing significantly better than you in something. It feels like a consistent punches to the crotch.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	8. The Dark Wisdom

_**Dark Wisdom**_

Soon enough, the group had made it back to Beacon, and while they were finally back in their own room, Team RYPJ could still hear the sound of Weiss and Blake arguing. Darkness, finding RYPJ quite boring at this point, opted to pop into Team BRWN and see how they were handling everything. Turns out they weren't.

Nora and Ren were pulled over to the side of the room, doing everything they could to avoid being pulled into the argument. Darkness was sitting crosslegged in the air, watching the argument go back and forth. The general gist was Weiss attacking the White Fang, with Blake defending it.

"I'm a victim," Weiss declared. Darkness listened to her intently as she then laid out her grievances against the White Fang. He could certainly understand that perspective quite well, considering how the White Fang's actions had consequences that hurt her personally in some way. Darkness just sighed; it seemed humanity had changed quite little from the time of his brother.

"Well maybe we were just tired being pushed around!" Blake then snapped, to the shock of her teammates, though the god was not even remotely surprised; he knew what Blake was the moment he noticed her. Though he did have to take note how. As she ran out of the room, Darkness watched her for a time, before winking away.

"Well, that just happened," Nora said.

 **(in the courtyard)**

Blake finally allowed herself to stop running once she reached the courtyard as she took a deep breath, considering what she had just said, before slowing reaching up and undoing her bow. As she did, she revealed her Faunus trait: her cat ears. Sighing, she sat down on a nearby bench, and stared up at the night sky.

"The night always looks the same, no matter who you are, does it not?" Blake suddenly turned to see a man approaching. He was bald and cleanly shaven, with pale skin, and a pair of ram horns atop his head. He was wearing a black suit and pants with a purple tie. By what really got Blake were his purple eyes, which were as deep as pools, but in a rather disturbing way, like they might reach out and swallow the girl.

"Greetings," the man said, holding up his hand.

"Hello," Blake greeted.

"May I sit with you?" the man asked. His voice was extremely refined, and had a proud, almost arrogant, air about it.

"Go ahead," Blake answered, not thinking of a reason why he couldn't. The man sat beside her, and looked up at the sky next to her.

"Something troubles you," he said, as if knowing that it was fact.

"Oh, its nothing," Blake lied.

"I have a talent for detecting falsehood," the man said. Blake opened her mouth to answer, but gave pause. She couldn't explain, but she had a strange compulsion to speak to the man, despite not knowing him at all.

"I'm just having some difficulties with my teammates," she said, "One of them is a Schnee."

"What of it?" Blake was somewhat surprised by that. She figured the issue would've been implicit between two Faunus.

"Well, she's pretty unsympathetic to the issues we faced due to her family's company."

"Is that a fact?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that's how she's been acting."

"Can you be certain about that is how she feels, however?" the man responded. Blake opened her mouth than closed it. She wasn't a psyche; she couldn't read people's minds and feelings, so she supposed she couldn't assume how Weiss was really feeling.

"Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or forms of measure," the man continued, "Perhaps you should consider the pain she has gone through before being so quick to condemn her."

"Yes, alright," Blake finally relented, "But does that mean…"

"Does the suffering one individual experiences justify them inflicting suffering on another?" the man inquired. Blake froze at that, having never thought of it that way. For her the goal was freedom and respect, so she could live with the destruction and pain she caused. It was for the greater good.

"What we did was a lesser evil."

"There is no such thing," the man said, "Evil is evil, the degree is arbitrary." Hearing that shocked the cat, especially from a Faunus.

"You call oppressing an entire race and destroying an occasional shipment manned by machines equally evil?" Blake all but demanded, leaning forward. The man didn't so much as blink at her outburst.

"What did those shipments contain?"

"Umm," Blake said, surprised by the question slightly, "I never really bothered to check, but I always assumed Dust."

"Well maybe that Dust was going to a village that needed it for their defense," the man continued, "Maybe your actions ultimately contributed to dozens of people getting hurt or killed because they could not get the Dust from the shipment you attacked." Blake was left dumbstruck by that statement; never in her life had she considered something so far ahead; she just figured so long as she left the people there alone nothing would ultimately come of it. But if it was true… She shook her head slightly.

"We had to do whatever it took to survive!" she declared.

"Perhaps taking a stand was necessary. But was the destruction you caused also necessary?" the man said, "Or was it merely a way of reaping personal vengeance against an organization that wronged you?" Blake didn't answer as she just averted her eyes.

"I do not believe your teammate is a truly prejudiced person," the man said, "Perhaps she is merely reacting to the troubles and unhappiness she suffered at the hands of the White Fang. Perhaps instead of condemning her for her emotions, you should consider why those emotions are present."

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps where her hatred came from," the man answered, "And how it can be overcome." He then sighed as he rose to his feet.

"I will leave you with these final words," he said, "One cannot continue to victimize others simply because they were at one point a victim themselves. There must be a limit, or else it merely creates wanton destruction." With that, he folded his arms behind his back and calmly strolled away.

"Wait!" Blake said, standing up.

"Yes?" the man answered, looking back.

"Why are you so critical of the White Fang?" Blake asked, "Aren't you a Faunus?"

"Who ever said I was?" the man asked with a shrug, as he continued walking away. He then didn't so much disappear into the darkness, so much as the darkness seemed to envelop him, leaving Blake all but dumbfounded by his words.

 _RYPJ Chibi:_ _The Holy Button_

 _Light shifted through the forest as he peered under rocks, trees, and occasionally through reality, apparently looking for something._

" _ **For my sake,"**_ _he muttered as he glanced into a reality that seemed to consist of colorful machines fighting strange dark clouds_ _ **, "Where could it be?"**_

" _ **Hello, Brother,"**_ _Darkness said as he approached_ _ **, "Are you looking for something?"**_

" _ **Remember the button I created?"**_ _Light answered, folding his arms in frustration._

" _ **The one that warps reality relating to the situation that the user finds themselves in."**_

" _ **Yes."**_

" _ **Oh yes, that was an interesting project,"**_ _Darkness answered_ _ **, "Did you lose it?"**_

" _ **I would not be looking for it if I did not,"**_ _Light answered. They noticed the sun briefly flash off, before flashing back on._

" _ **Ah, there it is,"**_ _Light commented. The sun then flashed again, before starting to repeatedly flash on and off._

" _ **I recommend you reclaim it soon, before…"**_ _Darkness couldn't finish as the sun suddenly blinked out._

" _ **Well there that goes."**_

" _ **Well, I suppose I am going to have repair that,"**_ _Light said with a sigh._

" _ **You should really exercise greater caution with your creations."**_

" _ **Quite a statement coming from you, Brother."**_

" _ **Why did you create that thing in the first place?"**_

" _ **No one was visiting my altar that day, and I was getting bored."**_

" _ **Remind me, why I am considered the incarnate of destruction?"**_

 **Note: This was a pretty quiet chapter, mostly just to inject some variety into Blake's scene with Weiss, and have Darkness put a little spin on it. While I'm sure you can all guess this, but I'll just confirm that Darkness is subtly influencing Blake to reveal more information to him. He knows it all anyway, he just wants to hear it from her mouth.**

 **There were a bunch of little references to other things RT related in this chapter. Props if you can find them.**

 **I am fully aware how hypocritical Darkness has probably been acting throughout this story, as a few have pointed out. That is completely intentional, and it does have an end. I'll leave it at that. Take note though, that he doesn't consider what happened to him at the hands of humanity to be suffering, more rebellious children lashing out. I also feel that as said earlier, the God of Darkness isn't evil; he's simply the counter balance to light. His brief talk on good and evil has something to do with the fact that he considers**

 **Be sure to review.**


	9. Sins of the Past

_**Sins of the Past**_

Even after all the time had passed, Blake was still left gobsmacked by the words of the man from the night. She had tried to clear her head by walking through Vale, if for no other reason than it was close. In that time, she just happened to run into the same monkey Faunus that helped lead them to Penny. In that time, she learned that his name was Sun Wukong. The two were now at a cafe, with Sun doing his best to get to know Blake.

"You sure you want to know about me?" Blake asked, as she stared into her tea cup.

"I figure that was the general direction of our conversation," Sun answered as he used his tail to drink from his own.

"Are you _sure_?" Blake asked again.

"You asking me a bunch of times won't make me change my mind." Blake then took a breath, and laid it all out for Sun. How she was there when the White Fang got started, how it eventually turned to violence. During this, Sun listened attentively, his expression unreadable.

"It all seemed so clear cut then," Blake said, "We were the good guys fighting the oppressors, but…" She trailed off.

"But what?"

"The goal was always the greater good of Faunus," Blake slowly said, "To that end I was able to live with what I did. But what if it was all just a lie?"

"What does that mean?" Sun asked.

"What if I was just telling myself that as a way to justify me getting personal vengeance on others?" Blake asked.

"If you're looking to get all philosophical and existential, you're asking the wrong guy," Sun said, "I'm from Vacuo; nobody cares who or what you are down there so long as you can dish it." Blake had to chuckle grimly at that; ironic that the most war torn of the kingdoms was possibly the most equal.

"My father once said that we had to convince people to accept us," she said, "Sienna Khan believed we had to force them to. I wanted to believe my father, but everything I kept saw kept indicating that Sienna was right."

"So what do you believe now?" Sun asked.

"I… I don't know," Blake finally said.

 **(in downtown Vale)**

Since Blake didn't come back in the night, to the concern of her team, which lead to Ren and Nora asking Team RYPJ to help them.

 _I guess it would be too much to ask for you to look over the city and find her?_ Jaune asked Darkness.

" **I spoke with her at length last night,"** Darkness said **, "But after that, I let her go on her own way. I know not where she is."**

 _What did you speak with her about?_ Jaune asked.

" **Various matters I am not inclined to share with you."** Jaune rolled his eyes, before something clicked in his mind.

 _Wait! You spoke with her?!_ Jaune all but demanded.

" **Relax,"** the god said, holding up his hand **, "I manifested in mortal form."**

 _You have a mortal form?_ the blonde asked. As an answer, Darkness's form altered until he looked like a ram Faunus in a black suit with pale skin and deep purple eyes.

" **Are you really surprised at this point?"** he asked, as he shifted back into his divine form.

 _No, I guess not._

"Hey Jaune!" Pyrrha called, quickly seizing said teen's attention.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You keep looking into space," Pyrrha said, "Is there something you see?"

"No," Jaune said quickly, "Just looking for Blake too." He really had to find a way to communicate with Darkness without making it look like he was looking at an imaginary friend.

"Knowing Weiss she probably said something mean," Ruby said.

"For something like this, it must've been more than that," Pyrrha said.

"I remember Nora saying they were still arguing about the White Fang," Yang said.

"I think we should hear both sides of the story when we can," Jaune said.

" **There is truly not much to either story,"** Darkness said.

"And I think Pyrrha's hair looks wonderful today!" Penny said. The sound of her voice made everyone there (even Darkness somehow) jump a foot into the air.

"PENNY!" Ruby cried out in shock, "Where did you come from?"

" **It is the abomination,"** Darkness growled.

"Hey guys!" Penny said cheerfully, "What're you up to?"

"Um, we're looking for our friend, Blake," Yang said.

"Ah," Penny said, "You mean the Faunus girl?"

"Faunus?" all four people said at once.

"How do you know that?" Ruby asked.

"The cat ears," Penny said as if it were completely obvious.

"Cat ears?" Yang echoed, "She wears.. a…" It then clicked into place for RYPJ.

" **You mean you did not notice?"** Darkness said, looking down at Jaune.

 _Wait, you did?_

" **The moment I laid eyes on her."**

 _So you_ do _have eyes?_

"So, where is she?" Penny inquired.

"I dunno," Ruby said, "She's been missing for a while now."

"A friend of my friend is missing?" Penny said with a gasp, before grabbing Ruby's shoulders, "Do not worry, Ruby my friend! I will not rest until your own friend is found!"

"Uh… thanks," Ruby said uncomfortably, "But I think the rest of us can…" She glanced over to see that both Yang and Pyrrha were gone (to be fair, Pyrrha was fairly willing to stay, but Yang decided of both of them). Jaune was still there though.

"You staying?" Ruby asked with a nervous smile.

" **Come, Jaune,"** Darkness said gesturing **, "I suggest we go as well."** But Jaune ignored him.

"Hey, we're partners, right?" he asked with a slight shrug. Darkness just pinched the bridge of his "nose".

"Great!" Penny said happily, "Another friend."

" **Please remind me the reason I spared the abomination before I try to smite it again."**

 **(back with Blake and Sun)**

The two Faunus were making their way down the street. Actually, that was inaccurate, Blake was making her way down the street, Sun was just following her.

"So, what started your whole debacle?" Sun asked.

"'Debacle'?" Blake asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Sun said, holding up his hands, "Just the best word I could come up with."

"Well, it was that crime scene by the docks," Blake explained, "Weiss wanted to chase you, one thing lead to another and here we are." A thought then came to her.

"Speaking of which," she said, "Despite what Weiss said, I still don't think it was the White Fang that did it. We went after the Dust shipments mostly to stick a thumb in the eyes of the Schnee, not really for the Dust itself."

"Well, I don't think we'll find out much about what they _didn't_ unless we go looking for answers on our own," Sun said. Blake looked up, surprised by his suggestion.

"Are you seriously saying we go _look_ for the White Fang?" she asked.

"Well, its just a suggestion," Sun said, shrugging again.

"Well, I guess it would be one way of atoning," Blake said, rubbing her forehead slightly.

 **(with Darkness)**

" **I found her."**

 _What?_ Jaune asked, glancing at the god.

" **I scoured the city, and I found the girl,"** Darkness answered.

 _Well… that's good I guess. Where is she?_ Jaune couldn't help but feel that it was too easy, like something would still get in their way somehow.

" **Currently, she is in that direction,"** Darkness answered, pointing.

"I think we should go this way," Jaune said, getting Ruby and Penny's attention.

"What makes you say that?" Ruby said.

"Call it a hunch," Jaune said, "Have I ever steered you wrong?" Ruby opened her mouth, but considered it slightly. How often did Jaune actually steer her wrong? Not much all things considered.

"Alright, partner," she said with a shrug, "Lead the way."

"Let's go!" Penny agreed. With that, the group struck out in the direction Jaune (Darkness) gave.

 _RYPJ Chibi_

 **Note: Maybe its the military side of me speaking, but I can't ever have any support or sympathy for an organization like the White Fang.**

 **Things are picking up, but I will say next chapter there will probably a major development in the story which hopefully out soon enough. In terms of the pairing, Ruby still has a sizable lead in the poll, with Pyrrha coming in a not so close second, and Yang coming in third (Blake is the lowest at only a couple votes). Don't take that to mean Lancaster will be the result; I make a pairing as I feel the story needs.**

 **A few people brought up how the last chapter was kind of short, and I imagine that this chapter may receive a similar response. I know and understand, but a couple things: I was originally planning on making the last chapter longer, but I wanted the conversation between Darkness and Blake to be the main event, since I thought it was important enough to warrant a chapter of its own. The story would've then gone to the others looking for Blake, and would've ended with them meeting up with Penny. Similarly this chapter would've gone into the battle starting, but having re-watched the 1st season (in Japanese, but that's irrelevant), I found the "final battle" wasn't that long or that big (the members of RWBY who were involved were Ruby and Blake). Obviously things can and will be different, but whereas some people's writing styles consist of telling a story as if each chapter were an episode, in my stye, I write my chapters as if they were scenes. To that end, I want the battle scene to have its own chapter.**

 **That all out there, time constraints currently hav** **e me by a vice; for those who don't read my other stories, I'll take this as an opportunity to state that I'm actually a member of the Air Force (I wasn't exaggerating up there). To that end, free time is now less of a commodity and more a luxury which I have a limited amount of. I didn't have time to fully write the chapter, and I wanted to give people something.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	10. Battle at the Docks

_**Battle at the Docks**_

Eventually, with Jaune's guidance (which was to say, with Darkness' guidance), he, Ruby, and Penny, all made their way to the docks. By now evening was turning into night, and the docks were fairly empty.

"What're we doing here?" Ruby asked, "Why would Blake come to this place?"

 _Good question_ Jaune said, shooting a glance at Darkness.

" **This is where she is,"** Darkness said plainly **, "Are you, a mortal, questioning the sight of myself, a god?"**

 _What would you even do if I said yes?_

" **There are many things I can do that would not involve physically harming you,"** Darkness said ominously, leaning down **, "I would advice against testing me."** Jaune was fairly confident Darkness wasn't being serious, but figured that testing a god wasn't a smart idea.

"Well, we're here now," Jaune said, "So lets find Blake."

"Where should we start looking?" Penny asked.

"Uh…," Jaune said, pretending to look around, while waiting for Darkness to answer for him.

" **I was not able to narrow down to her exact spot,"** the god said **, "She seems to be constantly moving. All I can be sure of is that your friend is within this general area."** Cringing slightly, Jaune covered his eyes, spun in a circle once.

"That way," he said on the place he landed.

" **Well, I suppose one can only start some place,"** Darkness said, as he turned into a wisp of dark energy and followed Jaune as he ran in that direction. As she watched Jaune, Ruby sighed and shook her head.

"Jaune can be a bit of a dork," she said with a smile.

"Yes he can be," Penny affirmed.

"But he's our dork," Ruby said, her smile broadening, "Let's go!" With that, the girls followed Jaune.

 **(deeper in the docks)**

Having finally tracked down their targets, Blake fell to her stomach, as her keen vision picked up several people in White Fang uniforms working their way the docks. They seemed to be moving crates, and judging by the SDC logo's on the side, she imagined that they were filled with Dust.

"Well, I guess that means the White Fang was responsible," Sun said as he crawled up next to her, "Sorry, I know you…"

"No," Blake interrupted, "I think I always knew in the back of my mind. I just really wanted it to be wrong."

"Well, what do we do now?" Sun asked.

"I…" The Faunus girl couldn't finish as they heard someone shouting at them. To her surprise, Blake saw that it was Roman Torchwick.

"Is that a human?" Sun asked.

"That can't be right," Blake said. If memory served, Sienna refused to ever engage with humans unless they were negotiating surrender, let alone with humans like Torchwick. Narrowing her eyes, she suddenly leapt to her feet, and then to the ground, not listening to Sun's calls.

Torchwick was busy lambasting one of the White Fang when he suddenly felt a blade being pressed against his jugular. Not that it was an entirely new experience for a man in his particular line of work, but that didn't necessarily mean he enjoyed it.

"Move, and I slice him open!" Blake snapped, as several White Fang held up their weapons.

"Look, kid," Roman said, not sounding at all threatened, "Why don't we calm down and just talk this over?"

"Why are any of you helping a man like this?" Blake demanded to her (former) comrades. When she wasn't given an answer, Roman took it upon himself to do it for them.

"We're just doing a little business transaction," Roman said calmly, "I fail to see the issue in any of this."

"What is it?" Blake hissed.

"You're not really in a position to give demands," Roman said.

"Last I check, you were the one with the sword to his throat." Roman just chuckled and looked up, as he did, the wind picked up, as two bullheads flew over them. In the moment of distraction, Roman was able to fire his cane and Blake's feet. While it missed her, the force of the explosion still sent her careening away.

 **(with Team RJ, Penny, and the god)**

" **Ah, there she is,"** Darkness said, as he glanced over in the direction of the explosion. This caught the attention of the others as well.

"That's not good," Jaune said, stating the obvious, as he, Ruby, and Penny made their way in that direction. Not bothering to wait for them, Darkness turned into a wisp of energy again, and quickly moved over in their direction. When he arrived, he noticed Blake dodging more blasts from Torchwick. As he pursued her, he was jumped on Sun of all Faunus.

"Hey buddy, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" he asked.

"I'd rather pick on somebody my own size with several big guys," Roman countered, as one of the bullheads opened, allowing for several more White Fang members to jump out. Sun managed to hold his own against them, using his weapons, Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang.

Meanwhile, Blake seized the initiative while Roman was distracted, and leapt at him. Unfortunately for her, his reflexes proved better than initially suspected, as he managed to block her initially attack. He swung Melodic Cudgel up at her, only to phase through one of Blake's shadows. The girl appeared to his right, and he had to parry one of her strikes. The two jousted for a time, though it became apparent to Blake that though she was more skilled, Roman seemed to have more combat experience. He manage dot get two good strikes on her, before kicking her away. Fortunately, Sun came to her defense, as his weapons turned into a nunchaku, as the two of them double teamed Roman. Eventually, Roman was forced back, as he dusted his suit off slightly.

"You know, you are really starting to be a pain in my…" He couldn't finish as he had to dodge a strike from above, which had come from Ruby. When he looked up, he sneered at her.

"Well if it ain't Little Red again?" he said.

"What're you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"I didn't tell your pet cat," Roman said, jerking his head in Blake's direction, "What makes you think I'm gonna tell you?"

"You jerk!" Ruby cried, pointing Crescent Rose at the criminal.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Roman sneered.

As the humans and the Faunus continued to fight, Darkness just watched it passively, his arms folded behind his back. He considered what he was seeing. While mortals fighting was par the course; it was their reasons that intrigued the god more than anything else. There was something ironic with the Faunus girl defending human from her former comrades (Darkness found mortals were often an abundant source of irony), whom he figured were simply performing run of the mill criminal acts (though he wasn't going to bother to actually check). This Roman individual also amused him slightly; something about a man who was so unapologetically self-interested. If nothing else, Darkness could acknowledge the man's complete and utter clarity. Hearing his host call out seized the god's attention, as he noticed Jaune had finally caught up, and joined the fight. Roman also noticed him.

"Oh look, now its a party, but I'm too busy to deal with you," Roman said, as he pointed his cane at Jaune, and fired. Jaune managed to bring up his shield to block, the force of which knocking him back, though Darkness caught him with his telekinesis.

" **Well that went resoundingly well,"** he said sarcastically as he materialized beside Jaune, though he was ignored as Jaune charged back into the fight, holding up his enhanced sword. Roman just rolled his eyes as he got his weapon ready. Jaune let out a cry as he swung Crocea Mors up at Melodic Cudgel, as Roman easily moved to block it. As it collided, the magic of the God of Darkness kicked in, as with a burst of dark energy, Melodic Cudgel shattered. The force also sent Roman tumbling back.

"What the hell?" Roman said, as he stared at the remains of his weapon. Jaune was also surprised, as he looked at the glowing dragon symbol. Suddenly he was loving the weapon a lot more.

"You little bastard," Roman said as he leapt to his feet, and started to retreating.

"I'm afraid I can't let you get away." Roman looked over and saw Penny approaching now.

"I don't have time for this!" he declared, as he continued running.

"Penny!" Ruby called, "What're you doing? You can't take this guy on!" The girl just smiled at her and gave her the thumbs up.

"Don't worry, I'm combat ready!" Penny said as she then faced Roman, and her eyes narrowed. With that a… panel (Ruby had to a double take upon seeing that) on her back opened up, and several swords on strings slid out. Upon seeing that, Darkness was suddenly much more interested by the girl, as he started watching her intently. She used the swords to great extent, manipulating them so fluidly it impressed even the god.

" **Perhaps she has some potential yet,"** he mused as he rubbed his chin. He was even more impressed upon seeing her bring the swords tight, and send a massive beam that destroyed two of the bullheads in one strike.

"Holy gods," Jaune said, more than a little shocked.

" **That girl was not made by my hand,"** Darkness answered, leaning forward. Jaune noticed it was the first time her referred to Penny as something other than "abomination".

"Penny," Ruby said slowly, "That… that…" She couldn't even believe what the android was. Unfortunately, she had missed the one that Roman was on.

"Give me that!" the criminal said, snatching the rifle from one of the remaining thugs. He then took aim at the crate that hung over Ruby, and promptly shot at it. The girl in red only had time to look up and see the crate plummeting down towards her.

"RUBY!" Jaune and Penny both cried, as the boy reached for her on reflex. Darkness sighed, and shook his head.

Ruby let out a cry as she instinctively held up her arms. But nothing hit her; after slowly opening her eyes, she noticed that the crate was suspended in mid hair over her. That was shocking enough, but what _really_ caught Ruby's attention was the towering, horned being made out of what looked like purple energy looming over her holding up its hand to the crate. It flicked its wrist slightly, sending the massive, metal item tumbling away like it was nothing. The being then looked down at the girl in red.

"Ruby!" Jaune called as he ran up to her, "Are you…" Then he noticed the being as well.

"J…Jaune?" Ruby responded, slowly looking towards Jaune.

" **Well, it was bound to happen eventually,"** Darkness said.

 _RYPJ Chibi: Not So Natural Disasters_

 _Darkness leaned on his hand as he glanced at the land over him, sitting on a rock on a cliff. Sighing slightly, he made a finger gun, and pointed it in that direction. Suddenly a massive ripple went across the land, creating a massive wave of destruction. He did it a second time, destroying even more land._

" _ **What in our names are you doing?"**_ _Light demanded as he appeared before him._

" _ **Bored,"**_ _Darkness answered plainly._

" _ **What?"**_

" _ **Bored!"**_ _Darkness snapped as he leapt to his feet, and through a ball of dark energy which started a wild fire._

" _ **So you take it out on the planet?"**_ _Light said._

" _ **Eh, the planet had it coming,"**_ _Darkness answered as he kicked back on the rock he was sitting on._

" _ **There are more effective ways of dealing with boredom,"**_ _Light said as he waved his hand, repairing the damage his brother had done._

" _ **If I was interested dealing with it, would I still be here?"**_ _Darkness said plainly, as he created a small Taijutu in his hand._

" _ **Knowing you, perhaps,"**_ _Light said_ _ **, "Can you perhaps find a better outlet for it?"**_

" _ **The mortals do not mind,"**_ _Darkness asked as the two headed serpent slithered through his fingers_ _ **, "They have become use to it. They call them 'natural disasters'."**_

" _ **But they are not."**_

" _ **You are free to enlighten them."**_ _Light just rolled the eyes he didn't have, and winked away._

" _ **I do not know why he is complaining,"**_ _Darkness said to the Grimm_ _ **, "The mortals pray to him whenever it happens."**_ _Not that they should've; it was his domain, after all. He then glanced at the land again._

" _ **One more for good measure,"**_ _he said, as he pointed his finger at the land again._

 **Note: Finally a chapter that breaks the two thousand word marker. So Ruby has seen Darkness in full now. This'll cause some hijinks.**

 **Some might say that its too earlier for Ruby to meet Darkness, but hear me out. This was always the plan; if I didn't, then the story would progressively stagnate. It would devolve into the same story only with slight variations. Team changes aren't as extreme when one considers it; it needs a little bit more substance.**

 **The battle might also have more than a little lackluster, but the action in the episode was so zippy and fast that its hard to put to keyboard. As the story deviates from canon further, I believe the action sequences will improve. At any rate, something one of my instructors once told me when I was in BMT was this: "You have to get through something bad to get to something good".**

 **Be sure to review.**


	11. Smoldering Embers

_**Smoldering Embers**_

Ruby just continued to stare in shock at the being standing over her. She suddenly realized that she was forgetting to breath; his presence was near suffocating.

"Ruby!" Jaune called, "Are you okay?" Ruby stuttered out slightly, as she just pointed up at the being.

"Are you crazy!" Jaune shouted, not bothering to just communicate his thoughts to the god.

" **I acted as I thought necessary,"** Darkness said **, "I assumed you would be grateful for it."**

"Jaune, you know this guy?" Ruby asked.

"Sort of," Jaune said, cringing slightly.

" **I would certainly say we know each other well enough at this point,"** Darkness answered. Jaune

"Look, Ruby," Jaune said, "Its a really long sorry. I can tell you later, but not here."

"Okay," Ruby finally said softly. She tried to stand, only to double over with a cry, as she realized her ankle was sprained. Jaune came over to boost her up. As he watched, Darkness remembered when mortals would come to his brother to, and a thought came to him. The god held up his hand to stop his tenant. He then fell to one knee before Ruby, who flinched back.

" **What's wrong little one?"** the god asked gently. Ruby hesitated at first.

"My ankle," was all she eventually said. Darkness looked at it, as he slowly put his fingers on Ruby's ankle. Despite what Ruby expected, it didn't hurt. It felt cold, but in a good way; like cold water on a hot day. And suddenly, the pain simply disappeared.

"Its…. better now," Ruby said. The god just nodded at her, before fading away.

"Ruby!" Blake called, as she made her way over to them.

"Blake!" Ruby said as she stood up, "Did you…" She stopped as Jaune put a hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, Ruby immediately knew not to bring up the being she saw.

"…see where Penny went?" Ruby finished.

"Uh, no," Blake said looking around, not seeing her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, somehow," Ruby answered, as she got to her feet, still feeling a tad shaky on her ankle.

"Do either of you have your scrolls?" Blake asked, "We should call the others. I'm sure their worried about us."

"Yeah," Jaune said as he took out his scroll, "But I thought you…"

"Whatever you initially thought I wanted, i don't anymore," Blake interrupted, before looking away, "I've… I've got some things that need doing." The three then started to leave, and as they did, Penny watched the from shadows sadly, before a hand appeared on her shoulder, and guided her away.

 **(back in Beacon)**

On the way back to Beacon, Ruby and Jaune ran back into Pyrrha and Yang. After the younger sister tried to chew the older sister out (which resulted in the latter laughing about how cute the former was), they made their way back to Beacon with Blake. There, Blake was reunited with her own team. When she got back to the dorm, Nora, and even Ren, all but kicked Weiss out.

"Make nice," was all she said, before slamming the door in the two girls' faces. With not much to do, Weiss reluctantly agreed to walk with Blake on an invitation. They made their way back to the courtyard, and eventually they came to the side of the dining hall.

"Weiss…," Blake began. But the white haired girl held up her hand.

"You and I are going to have to deal with each other one way or another," Weiss said, "Now we best make peace, or we'll…"

"I'm sorry," Blake said. Weiss immediately stopped talking upon hearing that.

"What did you say?" she asked, not believing what she heard.

"I'm sorry," Blake repeated, "It was wrong for me to act so judgmental and accusatory. I think… I think I should stop talking and start listening." She then sat down on the bench, and gestured for Weiss to sit next to her. While the white haired girl hesitated, she eventually did so.

"Why don't you tell me everything?" Blake suggested.

"Like what?"

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Weiss looked Blake straight in the eye, as she considered what to start with, taking a breath.

"The first one was a train worker…"

 **(in the not so good part of Vale)**

Roman angrily gnawed on his cigar as he glared at what remained of his weapon. With the heist a total bust, he had returned to his hideout to regroup, or more accurately, fume. And the day had started so good before Red and her friends decided to drop in. Damn kids, why couldn't they ever mind their own damn business?

The sound of footsteps drew his attention behind him, as a girl dressed in a whitetail jacket with brown pants, black gloves, and black and white high heeled boots. She had long hair that was half pink and half brown and white streaks. On top of all that, she had one pink eye, and one brown eye. She had a pink umbrella on her shoulder.

"Where were you during all of this, Neo?" Roman demanded. The girl, Neapolitan, just smiled and shrugged innocently. Roman grumbled to himself, as he looked back at Melodic Cudgel. Neo came up next to him, and looked at as well, before looking at her boss with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look," Roman said, as he walked past her, "That cane and I have been through some hard stuff." He pulled out his scroll to make a call, when he suddenly felt the air heat up significantly. Knowing what that meant, he whirled around as Neo quickly held her umbrella at the ready. Approaching them were three shadowed figures, two female, one male.

"You know I have a scroll," Roman said, as he glared at the coming figures, puffing some smoke again, "You don't need to dance around in the shadows."

"Oh my dear, Roman," the lead woman said as she emerged fully from the shadows, "You know that's not my way." Cinder Fall had long, dark hair that was mostly over her shoulder. Her eyes were a brilliant amber, almost like flames, and she were a short red dress.

"So, you lost to a bunch of students?" the young man with her said. Mercury Black had grey hair and grey pants, and a _very_ punchable face. At least according to the girl who accompanied him. Remold Sustrai had dark skin with red eyes, and mint colored hair that was short, save for two long locks.

"If you boss had better aim, we wouldn't have to deal with Red at all," Roman responded.

"You blaming _your_ failure on Cinder?" Emerald hissed.

"Oh don't worry yourself with him," Cinder said, "Blaming others for their own failures is typical of men of his standing." If it were any other woman, Roman would have some choice "words" for her. But Cinder Fall was certainly not any other woman.

"So is there a particular reason why your here?" Roman said.

"You've been going far too slowly," Cinder said, advancing on him, "And if children are scoring victories against you, I think you may not be entirely cut out for this task."

"Listen here, Ms. Fall," Roman said, as he took one final puff of his cigar, and tossed it over his shoulder, "You can't give me a task like this, and then give me a strict deadline and set of rules. If you want your plan to work, it'll have to fall in with my plan." Suddenly, the room got even hotter, as Cinder's eyes flashed.

"You should know by now that there is no 'our' plan," she said flatly, as she came closer to Roman, "There is only _my_ plan." Neo moved to back up her boss, though she noticed Mercury and Emerald moving as well. Roman held up his hand to stop her.

"Whatever you say," was all he knew he could say.

 **(on the Beacon rooftop)**

Finally, Jaune called Ruby up to the roof to talk. She wasn't sure what to expect, but figured that her partner hadn't steered her wrong yet, and had no reason to assume he would at this point. When the girl in red reached the door, she put her hand not he doorknob, inhaled, and opened it. When she did, she saw Jaune standing by the railing. When he saw her, he waved her over.

"You ready?" he asked. His partner just nodded slowly.

"Alright then. Now Ruby, what I'm going to say and show you will seem crazy, but its the truth," Jaune said. Ruby just nodded again, and Jaune then gestured. The same being as before then materialized beside her in full form, his arms folded behind him. Ruby took an instinctive step back.

"Ruby, this is the God of Darkness," Jaune said, "One of the gods of Remnant, and…" He trailed off slightly, before clearing his throat.

"One of the creators of humanity, one of _our_ creators." Ruby's head suddenly felt so light she had to lean on the railing to prevent herself from collapsing. In the lists of things she had experienced since coming to Beacon, since being born, this was certainly a new one. Religion was never something Ruby had given much thought of; sure, she believed the gods existed, but she was certainly not religious. And now one of the gods was standing right in front of her, addressing her.

" **I understand you have many a question, some I could answer, some I could not,"** Darkness then said **, "But all you need to know is that I am not a threat to you, or your friend."**

"So, you're a god," Ruby said, before asking, "What can you do?" Darkness held up his hand. That raised some alarm bells with Jaune.

"I know what you're thinking," he said, "Please don't give a demonstration." Fortunately, all Darkness did was materialize a ball of clay into his palm.

" **See this?"** he asked. Ruby nodded, as it floated over to her, and she took it.

" **I can mold your reality as easily as you mold that clay,"** Darkness explained **, "That should grant some perspective."** Honestly it didn't. Ruby kneaded the clay with her fingers slightly, not sure what she was supposed to do with it. Apparently either noticing or sensing her confusion, Darkness looked towards the night sky, and held up two fingers. He put the fingers around a star, and to Ruby (and Jaune's) awe, literally plucked it out of the sky. He held it in his palm, a swirling glowing sphere.

"But… I thought…," Ruby said, thinking about what she learned in school about astronomy.

"This **is what I am capable of,"** Darkness said, as he held up his hand, and the star simply floated back into its place in the sky **, "And that is still only a single inkling of my true power."** Ruby realized she was forgetting to breath again, as he put her hand on her chest.

"Okay," she finally said, "So… what am I supposed to take from this?"

"I really don't know why he's here," Jaune explained, "He just kind of… showed up the day I was going to Beacon."

"And he's been standing next to you all this time, invisible?"

"Well, not always," Jaune admitted with half joking shrug, but Ruby wasn't laughing and continued, "I've been communicating with telepathy."

"You can read his mind?" Ruby asked.

" **More accurately, I am the one who reads his mind, but that would be an over simplification"** Darkness explained **, "I am merely only allowing him to hear me. But I can extend that to others if I so wish."**

"Are you going to do that to me?" Ruby asked.

" **Ideally I would simply remove the memory from your mind,"** Darkness explained **, "But I prefer not to tamper with minds to such a degree if I can avoid it. So while it would not be my first choice, I will allow you to see me as Jaune can."** Ruby supposed that was better than getting amnesia imposed on her, as she clicked her tongue.

"Well, this'll take some getting used to," she finally said.

"Trust me, I know."

 _RYPJ Chibi: Questions of Faith_

 _Ruby found out she had quite a number of questions for the newly introduced god. So when she got a chance, she managed to get him cornered, and started pestering him with question while Darkness continued going through the book he took from Blake._

" _So, is there an afterlife?" Ruby asked._

" _ **There is,"**_ _Darkness answered as he turned a page._

" _What's it like?"_

" _ **Beyond your comprehension."**_

" _Is Remnant flat?"_

" _ **No."**_

" _Are we alone in the universe?"_

" _ **No."**_

" _How big is the universe?"_

" _ **Bigger than you could possibly conceive."**_ _Ruby thought about other questions to ask, before a new thought came to her mind._

" _What's the meaning of life?" Darkness actually paused on that one, looking up, actually considering this question. He then came up with an answer._

" _ **Cookies."**_ _He had expected a least a few seconds for Ruby to fully process what she was told. He was wrong for once._

" _I knew it!" Ruby cried as she ran off to spread the word. As he ran away, Jaune came up next to Darkness._

" _Uh," he said, pointing after Ruby, "Should I be concerned about that?"_

" _ **Relax,"**_ _Darkness answered as his attention went back to the book_ _ **, "No one will believe her, and if this continues too long, I will remove the memory."**_

 **Note:** **So Ruby's now fully privy to Darkness' presence. And Cinder and her lackeys are here to join in on the fun. Things seem to be picking up now.**

 **Few things irritate me more than a person who thinks their entitled. And frankly, Cinder and her lackeys act (at least to my perspective) VERY entitled. And I suspect a god would share a similar perspective.**

 **I'm not sure how to clearly define Roman and Neo's relationship. Based on what we see, Neo definitely cared for Roman, and there's nothing to suggest that Roman didn't care for Neo. Some would call it father-daughter, but I'd see it as closer to big brother-little sister. We don't know how old for certain Neo is (with her Semblance, we can never be sure of his age), so she actually could be close to Roman's age.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	12. The Ignorance of God

_**The Ignorance of God**_

Ruby said knowing that Jaune was now being continuously accompanied by a god would take some getting used to. She was wrong, it would take a level of getting used to the likes of which might've been outside of human capability. When she woke up in the morning, and sat up to see a towering purple being sitting crosslegged in the corner, floating a couple feet off the ground, she'd nearly had a heart attack. And he seemed to be present all the time wherever they went, looming the mortals. It wasn't at all helped by the knowledge that at any time, with a single thought, this being could smite her and all her friends from existence. Never before in her life was Ruby Rose left feeling so… tiny.

Honestly, probably one of the hardest parts was simply not being able to tell her friends and sister about any of this. Jaune had insisted on keeping it hidden, and Darkness concurred. And who was Ruby to argue with the recommendation of her creator? But it didn't help, if anything it made her even more frustrated. The knowledge that you were always wrong in the face of someone…. For some maybe it would've been humbling; but for Ruby it was something completely different. It was… not demeaning, that didn't do it justice.

Going to the classes honestly weren't much better. Darkness sat looming in the back, as if prepping to lay judgement over all those in the room. Ruby shuddered how distracted she would be when the next test came along.

" **Another very enlightening class,"** Darkness commented materializing as Ruby and Jaune were leaving the room after Grimm studies. Upon seeing him, Ruby flinched.

 _Yeah…_ Ruby answered _I guess it was._

" **Though I feel the professor goes on far too many tangents,"** Darkness continued **, "Though one did remind me of a mortal that once came to my brother asking for a magic weapon."** On the mention of weapons, Jaune glanced at Ruby, hoping it would perk her up, but to his disappointment, she was still looking away.

"You okay, Ruby?" Jaune asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, only to be jerked away.

"Yeah… I've… I've gotta go to the library, get some studying done," Ruby said slowly as she hurried away. Knowing she just wanted to be away from them, Jaune sighed, as he walked the other direction, Darkness following him.

 _Poor Ruby_ Jaune said.

" **I gazed into her mind to try and acquire a sense of how she may feel,"** Darkness said, as he rubbed a couple of fingers together **, "And yet, I still cannot. I suppose mortal minds are incapable of handling such things."** Despite himself, that struck a nerve in Jaune. Okay, maybe Darkness knew and understood more than Jaune or Ruby ever could, and was more often than not correct about things. But that didn't mean everyone else was always wrong about everything, and that whenever something seemed amiss it was their fault.

 _You don't get it!_ Jaune snapped. Darkness was clearly surprised by the outburst, causing the blonde to sigh.

 _How could you get it?_ he asked as he continued walking, only to run into what felt like a brick wall. Rubbing his nose, he looked back to see Darkness holding up his hand.

" **It takes a daring mortal to accuse a god of ignorance,"** Darkness said **, "Choose your next words carefully, or I may remove your tongue and replace it with something unpleasant."** Ice traveled the length of Jaune's spine. That was the first time Darkness ever really threatened him. It was decisively different to any of threats he's ever received.

" **I am waiting."**

 _Fine then, imagine you were a mortal. Can you do that?_

" **I can make an attempt."**

 _You were going about your normal life, as you always do. Then suddenly you see or find out something that flips everything upside down. Your entire outlook on the world has been changed in a second. Can you imagine that?_ Darkness was silent for a time.

" **No, I cannot,"** he finally said. Jaune supposed he should've expected that; when one is the one who decides what the world is like, it may have been hard to imagine being a real part of it.

" **I suppose it is difficult for mortals to comprehend something different from their established routine."**

 _That's pretty rich coming from you_ Jaune said. Instead of creating an invisible wall, this time, Jaune was just froze in place.

" **Explain,"** Darkness commanded as he flicked his wrist, causing Jaune to face him. Jaune considered what he was going to say, but had suspicion that Darkness would know if he wasn't telling the full truth, so figured he might as well be plain about at this point. What was the worst that could happen?

 _You're a hypocrite!_

" **Come again?"** Okay, so a lot could potentially happen, but he'd come this far.

 _I said you're a hypocrite_ Jaune repeated. There was a period of silence as Darkness leaned in very close to Jaune, and as he did, Jaune noticed his horns grow larger, spines start to appear out of his back, and his fingers start to turn to claws.

" **Tread carefully, mortal,"** Darkness said **, "Or your next words could very easily be your last."**

 _You once told me that you don't destroy for its own sake_ Jaune said _So what're the Grimm if not abject destruction?_ Darkness kept looking straight at Jaune, causing the mortal to worry that he may have asked a very, _very_ , **very** , _**very**_ bad question. But the god said nothing; rather, he just faded away. Jaune had no idea where Darkness went when he did that, but didn't dwell on those thoughts, as he just sighed, and kept walking, ultimately returning to his room. When he did, Yang was the only one there, kicked back on her bed, messing with her scroll.

"Hey Goldilocks!" Yang said, as she sat up. _Great, she found a new nickname_ Jaune thought to himself.

"How's it going?" his fellow blonde said as she dropped from her bunk, "Where's Ruby?"

"She said she's going to library to do some studying," Jaune answered. He omitted some details, but he was getting very used to that lately.

"Ruby going to the library to study?" Yang echoed, "You sure we're talking about the same red hooded girl?"

"Uh, yeah," Jaune answered. Yang clearly didn't buy it, but just sighed as she rolled her shoulder.

"Well, what brings you here?" she asked.

"Uh, this is my room too," Jaune answered. Yang paused as if she was considering that.

"Oh yeah, that's right," she said, with a grin "Thanks for reminding me."

"We've been teammates for a while now," Jaune said with a sigh.

"Very true," Yang said, before gesturing, "Come on, its boring in here, and Pyrrha's not around to practice with. We're going to train some."

"But I just got back," Jaune said.

"All the better," Yang said, "Now get changed and meet me by the dining hall. Leave the Sword of Doom here." Knowing that arguing with her was an exercise in futility, Jaune did as she told him. When he met her in the designated location, he was carrying his training weapon with his shield. Yang was doing stretched, and grinned as he approached.

"Took you long enough," she said.

"So, wha…" Jaune couldn't finish as he was promptly knocked back onto his ass by Yang's shoulder check. As he sat up, he looked over to his side, expecting to hear Darkness make one of his sarcastic comments. But when he did, he saw that the god still wasn't here.

"Come on, tough guy, quit looking into nothing," Yang said, as she took a step back, "That was too quick."

"You can say that again," Jaune said as he got back up to his feet, and only had an instant to raise his shield to block Yang's punch.

That continued for a while, Jaune blocking strikes from Yang as best he could, though more than a few got through, and knocked him back down. There were a few instances where Jaune tried to land his own hit, but Yang easily parried or dodged them before countering. After knocking him down for what was probably the eighth time, Yang laughed.

"Oh come on," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "I'm sure you're better than that."

"You'd be surprised," Jaune answered.

"Don't sell yourself short, Goldilocks," Yang responded, "You got this far didn't you?"

"Yeah," Jaune answered slowly before thinking _In part because of the god backing me up_.

Eventually they (which was to say Yang) called a break, as they both sat under a tree. Jaune was out of breath, though Yang didn't look like she'd even broken a sweat.

"So, seven sisters," she said, offering Jaune a water bottle, "All older?"

"Unfortunately," Jaune said with a slight smile, "The oldest is Vermillion, whose 35."

"Any of them got any kids of their own?"

"Vermillion and her husband have a boy and two girls," Jaune said, "Saphron and her wife have a boy."

"Wow," Yang said with a chuckle, "Lot of nieces and nephews."

"Yeah, I guess," Jaune said, returning the chuckle, "They're part of the reason I wanted to become a huntsman. I thought I could someday be their cool uncle whom they could aspire to be like."

"I can get that, though if I'm going to have any say in it, Ruby's not going to make me an aunt until she's near thirty," Yang declared. Jaune sniggered at that.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said. That was a mistake, as it caused Yang to shoot him a look.

"You saying something there, Jaune?" she asked.

"No! No!" Jaune said, waving his hands, "I wouldn't go for Ruby!"

"What?" Yang said, standing up, "You saying my baby sis isn't good enough for you?"

"No!" Jaune said, "She's cute, sweet, and really fun…"

"So you are into her?"

"No… wait… what…" Yang then burst out laughing as she tussled Jaune's hair playfully.

"Relax," she said, "I'm just messing with you." She then offered Jaune a hand and heaved him up.

"You know, the dance is coming up soon," Yang mentioned.

"It is?" Jaune asked.

"Damn right. Who're you going to take?" Jaune gave that some thought; honestly with everything that was happening the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He supposed he could just ask Ruby, but he had a feeling she really wanted to be around him right now. He contemplated just asking Yang, since she was right next to him, but figured now would've been an awkward time to ask.

"You look really lost in thought there," Yang said, elbowing Jaune slightly, "Don't think about it too hard, just find a girl and ask her." That made Jaune think about it even harder, despite his best efforts. Though if nothing else, he was quite thankful for Darkness not being here. He shuddered at the thought about what snarky comment he'd make on what was happening.

 _RYPJ Chibi: (sorry, no RYPJ Chibi; too pressed for time right now)_

 **Note: Wow, Jaune just told a god off. Don't think that won't come back into play. Though its worth saying that Jaune's critique of Darkness isn't meant to be what I've seen other stories do with the God of Darkness being told off by characters, which mostly consist of getting at him for wiping out the whole of humanity (not many seem to raise this issue with the story of Biblical Flood).**

 **This was a fairly quiet chapter, with Jaune dealing with the aftermath of telling Ruby about Darkness. Some may call foul on not seeing Ruby's viewpoint, but that'll be next chapter. Again, my writing style is I approach chapters as scenes opposed to episodes. This was a scene between Jaune and Yang, and on that, I'm going to try and give Jaune more time with the other girls, since he's spent most of the time with Ruby (she is his partner) but there are others on his team. On another note, because I suspect a few people may bring this up, no, the irony of Yang referring to Jaune as "Goldilocks" is not lost on me.**

 **In terms of the poll, Ruby maintains her lead, though I wouldn't be surprised if Yang gets more votes after this chapter. I'll take this as an opportunity that if made to answer, my favorite Jaune pairing is Lancaster, but that's not to say that it'll be the final one. I actually kind of like Jaune with any of the five girls (Nora is obviously already spoken for).**

 **Also, when it comes to Jaune's sisters, I'm mostly ball parking there. We didn't get a specification on which sister in the Arc family picture Saphron was, but I"m working on the assumption that she's not the oldest. I'm also ball parking the age, because I don't want them to be too old, mostly to keep Mr and Mrs Arc's age in a reasonable spectrum.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	13. A Place of Worship

_**A Place of Worship**_

It wasn't like Ruby didn't like reading, its just she didn't like reading school books. So if not for the situation she was in, Ruby would've appreciated the irony. Granted, could anyone appreciate any irony considering the situation she was in?

Ruby sighed as she leaned against the bookshelf, and stared at the ceiling. She knew she couldn't blame Jaune for what was going on. It wasn't her fault the God of Darkness was possessing him and using him to observe the world of mortals. But… but… Ruby couldn't explain the feeling. It wasn't necessarily just that she felt small all things considered, it was more like she felt like…. That was exactly it, she felt like nothing.

Ruby groaned as she banged her head slightly on the book shelf, still during her very best to wrap her head around what happening as best she could. She wasn't having much luck.

"Ruby?" The girl in red looked up to see Weiss in her uniform standing over her, holding a few books under her arm.

"Oh, hey Weiss," Ruby said, "What're you doing here?"

"Studying, this is a library after all,," Weiss said plainly. She then glanced over Ruby's shoulder, and that a list she had in her free hand.

"And you're leaning right on a book I'm trying to get to." After apologizing, Ruby moved out of her way, allowing Weiss to take it.

"Why are you here and not your room?" Ruby asked.

"Nora and Ren, though mostly Nora," Weiss answered, "She likes her alone time with Ren."

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing I want to dwell on very much, and at any rate I need to get some studying done," Weiss answered, "I'm honestly more surprised to see you here."

"Just… I needed to clear my head," Ruby said. Weiss considered just walking away at this point and continuing what she was doing, but figured what with Blake taking time to engage with Weiss, she figured that it was only fair she do the same for Ruby.

"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, as she knelt down "Something going on with your team?"

"Something like that," Ruby said after a pause, "Its hard to explain." Understatements were starting to become a very standard part of Ruby's life.

"What is it?" Ruby inwardly cringed at that. How could she possible answer a question like that? Something like, "Hey, the creator of humanity has decided to visit us and has taken our friend as a vessel, weird huh"? Ruby rubbed her aching forehead.

"Does it have anything to do with your partner?" Weiss asked.

"Sorta, kinda," Ruby said, which wasn't really a lie.

"You know, you can't keep repeating this vague answers like that," Weiss said, shaking her head slightly. Ruby knew she was right, and opened her mouth to say more, but paused and closed it again.

"Do you want to ask him to the dance?" Weiss asked. That made Ruby leap to her feet in surprise.

"Wait, what!" she cried.

"The dance is coming up," Weiss said, "Are you hoping to go with him?" That was never even _remotely_ on Ruby's mind; it wasn't like she didn't like Jaune. But she didn't _like like_ him. Right? Ruby shook her head slightly to clear it.

"No," she said quickly, "Its not like that."

"Oh," Weiss said, arching an eyebrow, "Of course." She didn't believe Ruby for a second, but figured that it wouldn't be worth anything to pursue the issue at this point.

"Come on, you want to clear your head of the resident blonde doofus?" the white haired girl said, gesturing, "Come and study with me." Ruby's first instinct was to refuse the invitation, but figured that it might help take her mind off the god for the time. Well there was never a thought she ever expected to have.

 **(in the Beacon courtyard)**

Though Yang had returned to the dorm, Jaune decided to walk around some more. Darkness still hadn't showed back up since fading away, and Jaune really didn't know how to feel about it at this point. On the one hand, it was good to not have Darkness' over spoken snark, but the other hand….

 _Oh dear gods, was I getting used to Darkness being around?_ he thought. Speaking of Darkness' over spoken snark, Jaune once again glanced to his side expecting some, which he still wasn't getting.

It was then a thought came to him: if Darkness really was gone, then did the blessing he gave him that protected Jaune from the Grimm also gone? What would happen if it was? How would Jaune get through Grimm studies with his greatest advantage now gone? What was he at this point with the God of Darkness backing him? Jaune buried his face in his hands with a deep sigh, not hearing the footsteps coming up to him.

"Something troubling you, Mr Arc?" Jaune looked up to see Professor Ozpin approaching him, holding his usual coffee cup and cane.

"May I sit?" After getting his approval, Ozpin sat beside Jaune, taking a sip from his mug.

"So what is on your mind?" The way he spoke, it was clear that he wasn't giving Jaune a choice not to answer.

"Just… thinking about the gods," Jaune said, which was all too true.

"Is that so?" Ozpin said, arching an eyebrow, "That is a heavy subject for someone of your age."

"I know," Jaune said. Granted being the host for a god was pretty heavy for one's age as well, so thinking about them didn't seem like much all things considered.

"May I ask why?"

"Just wondering why they do the things they do," Jaune said, "Do you have any idea?"

"How could we ever understand the workings of gods?" Ozpin answered.

"I guess we can't," Jaune said, "So what can we do?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer such a question," Ozpin responded, "But if you are having a crises of faith…"

"Its not that…. I think," Jaune said slowly.

"Well one way or another, the school grounds do have a chapel you can visit if you are so inclined," Ozpin said, "Though it is dedicated to the Two Brothers."

"That's fine," Jaune said, noticing how strangely convenient that was, "Thanks." Ozpin simply nodded at him, before taking his leave. Jaune then made his way in the director he was pointed.

When he arrived, he found the chapel wasn't very big, only with maybe a dozen rows of chairs that lead up to a small altar. In the back of the room over was a stained glass mural depicting two figures, one Jaune recognized as Darkness, and a golden one he assumed to be the God of Light. In between the two were figures that he suspected were meant to resemble humanity.

He just sat in the seat, and considered what was happening. Was he really this worthless without the God of Darkness? Were all mortals this worthless without the gods?

With that thought, he expected Darkness to materialize then and there, and say "yes", but he made no such appearance. Instead, Jaune when turned to look at him, he just found himself staring into empty space again. So with that, Jaune looked to the mural at the altar. For a brief moment, he considered praying, but decided against it. All it would probably do was stroke Darkness' ego.

"Jaune?" The blonde looked up to see Pyrrha coming in.

"Oh, hi Pyrrha," he said, smiling, "What brings you here?"

"My parents were followers of the Two Brothers," Pyrrha answered, "And I'll admit, I always liked the story growing up." She then came up to the altar, folded her hands, and whispered a few words.

"I'm not especially religious myself," she admitted after she was done, "but I like to visit the chapel when I can, if only to take a break." That made Jaune think about how someone who was religious would take learning that the God of Darkness had returned to Remnant.

"So, what bring _you_ here?" Pyrrha inquired as she sat beside him.

"Just looking for a little clarity," Jaune answered.

"Clarity about what?" Jaune wasn't sure how exactly to answer that question; it wasn't like he could give an honest answer after all, especially in a place of worship.

"Pyrrha, can I ask you something?" he said, "Am I any good? I mean, I can dodge Grimm, yeah, but aside from that, am I any good at all?" Pyrrha looked surprised by the question.

"Of course your good," she said, "I can't believe you'd even ask that. Just ask Ruby or a Yang, and I bet they'd say the same." Of course they would, but Jaune couldn't figure out just what he could be good at, at least not without Darkness' backup.

Jaune looked up towards the altar again, as he stared at the image of Darkness. He couldn't explain why, but seeing a religious depiction of him instead of him in the… flesh (?) felt considerably different. It made him seem less…. real; Jaune really had no idea how to put it.

"Are you a follower?" Pyrrha asked, jerking her head to the altar.

"Sorta," Jaune answered. Technically not true, technically not a lie. He was finding that it was becoming a very consistent part of his life. The two sat together in the chapel, before Pyrrha nudged her teammate.

"So, do you have any plans for the dance?" she asked. Jaune tried not to let out an open yelp at that. The red head, apparently realizing what she said, waved her hands slightly.

"Oh don't worry about anything!" she said quickly, "I was just asking!"

"No! No!" Jaune said, "Its fine. I really don't."

"Well, its coming up soon," Pyrrha said, "Any ideas on who to take?" Jaune wasn't sure if he could hear a "hint hint" in her voice.

"Well…," Jaune said. It was the same as when he spoke with Yang, he really had no idea about it all. He hadn't been giving it any thought at all. Was it a girl thing?

"Forget I asked," Pyrrha said quickly, waving her hands again, "C'mon, let's get back to the dorm." Suddenly quite more eager to get out of this place, Jaune agreed. But as he stood up, he glanced at the image of Darkness one last time, before sighing, and following Pyrrha.

 _RPYJ Chibi: The Gamer_

 _Ruby sighed as she tossed her scroll aside, collapsing into her bed. As she did, Darkness manifested._

" _ **Hello, mortal,"**_ _he greeted_ _ **, "I sense something is troubling you."**_

" _I'm so bored with the game's I got," Ruby said, "I've played them a dozen times."_

" _ **Do you have no others?"**_

" _Not here at Beacon. I swear, I am_ this _close to praying for a new one." Apparently she forgot she was speaking to a god, who was always rather bereft of prayer himself. Darkness then paused to think as he glanced around, and noticed a cartridge on the desk that read "Boogie Boogie Rebellion", which gave him an idea. He then snapped his fingers._

 _The world seemed to blink for a second, and when Ruby sat up in her bed and went to the window._

" _Uh…," she said slowly, "What did you do?"_

" _ **I thought you would appreciate some variety. So I took one of your games…"**_ _He then gestured out the window._

" _What game did you use?"_

" _ **The one entitled 'Boogie Boogie Revolution',"**_ _Darkness answered_ _ **, "I must say, you mortals really have achieved mastery of language with words such as those."**_ _A sense of primal dread came down over Ruby as she looked back out the window._

" _Oh dear gods."_

" _ **I do not know why you continue to invoke me,"**_ _Darkness said_ _ **, "I am still right beside you."**_

" _This is it," Ruby said slowly, "This is how the world ends."_

" _ **Oh no, if I wanted to destroy the world, I would do it much more directly. It is far more efficient."**_

 **Note: Wow, a chapter completely without Darkness' commentary (not counting RYPJ Chibi). And religion seems to be coming up a lot more; bare in mind, in Season 4, Qrow identified the Two Brothers as one of Remnant's religions, so its not at all impossible to assume that there would be places of worship devoted to them, and for them to have at least some followers.**

 **I don't know if anyone was expecting more of a reaction from Ozpin to Jaune bringing up the gods, but consider a couple things: first off, Ozpin doesn't know Jaune is referring to the Brothers in particular (its indicated to just be one competing religion in Remnant, and just so happens to be the true one), let alone that one of them has returned, and besides, Ozpin has been around long enough to probably be in control of his reactions and his emotions.**

 **Something that bears mentioning is that I've heard a few people describe the religion of RWBY as being polytheistic. Not incorrect, but something over an oversimplification. The religion, as its presented in the show, is dualistic, bearing a resemblance to Zoroastrianism, with elements of the concept of Yin and Yang. Two opposing concepts that exist otherwise in harmony, which the universe revolves around.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	14. White and Black

_**White and Black**_

It had been about a week now since Darkness disappeared, and things were…. going. Jaune really wasn't sure if they were going well or bad, but they were going. Fortunately, even though Darkness still wasn't around, Jaune had found out that his blessing hadn't gone away. Perhaps that meant that Darkness was still around, just that Jaune couldn't see him. There was a disturbing thought.

Jaune was now passing the time trying to think of the dance, and who he could take. He figured had to ask one of the three girls who was in his team, though he supposed there was nothing stopping him from asking Blake and Weiss (Nora was probably waiting for Ren to ask her). He wasn't sure at all what they would say, considering that neither of them seemed that interested him; when the teams were together, neither of them really talked to Jaune much. Though Jaune didn't think they disliked him, maybe they just didn't think that much of him.

There really wasn't much for Jaune to do today. Ruby had gone down to the workshop to get Crescent Rose a tune up, while Yang and Pyrrha were in the gym training with each other. And figuring that there was no harm in at least approaching them, Jaune set out to find the two.

 **(in the Beacon courtyard)**

"And when father came home, he was so angry he slapped Winter clean across the face," Weiss said, as she stared at the ground, "I probably would've gotten it instead if she didn't get in front of me."

"I'm sorry," Blake said, putting her hand on her teammate's shoulder. Weiss sighed, as she looked at Blake and smiled.

"Thank you for listening to all this," she said.

"Its what I'm here for," Blake answered, returning the smile. The two savored the moment, before Weiss took a breath.

"I've talked enough at this point," she said, "I feel like you deserve to be heard now."

"Well," Blake said, after thinking for a moment, "I guess there's not much more to tell at this point. For me, it was a matter of helping the Faunus. To save them from slavery."

"They are paid, for what its worth," Weiss said, "Same amount as the human workers. But…" She didn't need to finish, as if anything, it proved Blake's point.

"I won't lie," she said, "My father's treatment of his workers is… lacking." Weiss knew that was an understatement, but for some reason couldn't really bring herself to say the real words. The two were silent for a time, before Blake stood up.

"I'm heading back to the room," she said, "I just got some new books. Are you coming?"

"In a moment," Weiss answered, sitting back, "I'm going to enjoy the sun some more. Its always so cold in Atlas." Blake nodded, before heading out. Weiss sighed as she looked up into the sky, enjoying the warmth. Despite the occasional rough patches, she was enjoying Beacon more than not. Unfortunately, her peaceful solitude was cut short when she heard someone approaching. Looking up, she saw a familiar blonde coming up.

"Hey, Weiss," Jaune said with a slight wave. Weiss let out another sigh.

"Hello Jaune," she answered. If someone were to ask an opinion on Jaune, she honestly would not have been able to give an answer. All things considered, she never had much real interaction with him, save for when their teams sat together during class or during meals. Weiss didn't really have an opinion on Jaune she supposed.

"Just want to ask how things are going?"

"I suppose things are going as well as they could," Weiss answered.

"Can I sit down?" Jaune, said, gesturing to the other end of the bench. If she was being really honest, Weiss wanted to say "no". But she also figured that she had been raised to be more polite than that, and Jaune hadn't really done anything wrong.

"Go ahead," Weiss answered, with a gesture. After Jaune sat down, an awkward silence quickly set down over the bench. Noticing that the girl in white was looking towards the sky, Jaune decided to the test the waters.

"Nice day, huh?" he said. Weiss just affirmed it slightly.

"What's the weather like it Atlas?"

"Cold," Weiss answered, "Being that high up and that far North, it snows most of the time."

"Sure glad I'm not from Atlas," Jaune said with a smile. It took him two seconds to realize that was probably not the best response, as Weiss just eyed him slightly, before looking back towards the sky. Once again, Jaune was very thankful Darkness was not present. Wait… Darkness… There was a topic that might go somewhere.

"I'm sorry, but can I ask you something kind of personal?" he asked. Weiss eyed him again, but this was more of a curious eye than anything else.

"Depends on the question," she answered.

"Do you believe in the gods?" Jaune asked. Weiss blinked at that; that was a strange question to say the least. Where did it even come from?

"Well, I suppose I do," she said, "I'm not really religious if that's what you're asking."

"I'm not either," Jaune said, "Well, at least I don't think I am." Sure, he had talked with a god quite a bit in the past, but he wasn't sure if that qualified as being religious.

"Honestly, I think if there are any gods in this world, they certainly aren't very good ones," Weiss said, "The world is so screwed up, they either don't exist, don't care, or can't do anything." Jaune fully expected Darkness to materialize then and there to counter what she was saying, but once again, nothing happened.

"Maybe they want us to make do with the world on our own?" Jaune suggested, "Letting us make our own achievements and mistakes?" He wasn't sure if that was what Darkness believed, though. He could never really tell what Darkness wanted at any point, unless the god told him overtly.

"That's… an interesting outlook," Weiss said, actually looking interested in the conversation now, "Maybe there's something to that." There was then a ringing sound, as Weiss noticed it was her scroll.

"Sorry, but I've got to take this," Weiss said, "It's Nora."

"Don't worry about it," Jaune said before Weiss got up, "Talk to you later?" Weiss stopped walking, and turned back, smiling slightly.

"Perhaps," she said, before answering her scroll, "What is it Nora? No, I don't know where your stuffed hammer is. Why are you so upset? You always said you'd rather cuddle with Ren?" As she walked away, Jaune sighed. He hadn't even gotten a chance to ask her to the dance this time. Maybe he'd try again soon.

As he sat staring into space, he noticed the statue of the King of Vale that sat in the square. It made him think about the past, which got him thinking about the divine again. What were things like when Darkness and his brother were still on Remnant? What did the world look like?

 **(in the dorms)**

After returning to the dormitory, he entered the common room, and noticed Blake sitting on the couch, her nose buried in a book. Deciding to take this as an opportunity to engage with Blake now, Jaune eventually approached her.

"Hey Blake," he greeted. Blake looked up in surprise.

"Oh, hey," she said.

"How's it going?" Jaune asked, mimicking what he said to Weiss, hoping it would bear fruit.

"Alright, I suppose," Blake said, as she turned her attention back to her book, "This book is pretty enjoyable." If Jaune were a different guy, he'd have taken the hint. But… this was Jaune we were talking about.

"How many books do you have?" Jaune asked. Okay, that was another awkward question. But maybe it was better than what he said to Weiss.

"A lot," Blake said simply, before adding, "Including this one. Which I intend to complete, hopefully today." Jaune was starting to take the hint, and got ready to leave, before he noticed the book she was reading.

"Is that… _Ninjas of Love_?" Jaune asked, looking close. Blake was silent, as she glanced at the cover. Her eyes widened.

"Oh," she said. She could've sworn she put a false cover on it.

"Um…" How did a girl answer to this?

"Hey, no judging," Jaune said, as he rubbed the back of his head, "I… actually may have sort kinda read it too."

"Really?" Blake said, "No offense, but I never pegged you as a guy with interests like that."

"Actually, it was my sisters'," Jaune admitted, "But… I won't lie, I…" He didn't finish, but the point was made. Upon hearing that, Blake smiled as she sat up slightly.

"Well, its always good to hear someone shares my interests," she said. Jaune returned the smile.

"You know, if you'd like, I can show you some of the other books I have," the Faunus then offered.

"Thanks," Jaune said with a smile. As the warm moment sat in the air, Jaune decided to test his luck.

"Can I ask a weird question?" he asked.

"Uh, sure, why not?"

"Do you believe in the gods? Specifically the Brothers?" Blake did indeed look surprised by the question.

"Well," she said, "I do believe in gods, though not the Brothers."

"Really?" Jaune asked, sitting across from her.

"I'm from Menagerie," Blake explained, "We worship the High Spirits there."

"High Spirits?"

"Basically nature spirits," Blake said, "Not much really to tell. What about you?"

"Well, I guess you could say I believe the Brothers," Jaune said. Technically not true; he didn't believe in the Brothers, he _knew_ one of the Brothers.

"Never thought you of all people would be religious," Blake said, "No offense."

"None taken," Jaune said, "I'm really not actually, I've just been asking everyone lately."

The two kept talking, before Blake excused herself to get something to eat. Jaune considered making a joke about fish, but figured that probably would've been offensive. So he just returned to his team's room, seeing the girls were still all gone, after which he collapsed onto his bed with a slight groan. As he did, he remembered he still hadn't asked anyone to the dance. Absolutely no real progress to that had been gained.

It was then that he decided that there was probably nothing he could do that would help him choose, Jaune just went for broke. After scribbling down the names of the five candidates on a piece of paper, Jaune torn the paper accordingly, and put them all in a paper bag. After shaking the bag slightly, Jaune closed his eyes, reached in, and pulled out a name.

"Alright then," he said, as he looked at the name taking a breath. He then stood up, and set out to find her. Soon enough, he found her. With that, facing the girl he'd selected (completely at random, what was his life coming to?), he took a deep breath.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked.

 _RYPJ Chibi: the Sacred Scripture_

" _Ugh!" Ruby groaned as she and Jaune entered their room, "This day was a killer!"_

" _No one should have that many tests in one day," Jaune agreed. They then saw a strange glowing book on the desk. Curious, Jaune approached it. On it was writing that said "Read this, and I turn you into a lizard"._

" _What is it?" Ruby asked._

" _Its Darkness' diary," Jaune said._

" _He's got a diary? That's kinda weird." Jaune didn't answer as he kept staring at the book._

" _Jaune?"_

" _I don't know, but I've suddenly got a strange urge to start preaching the things in this book," Jaune said, "Take a look." Ruby took the book in her hands._

" _I now really want to start thumping this without reason over books about science," Ruby said, "But we really shouldn't read it, right?"_

" _No, we shouldn't." The two were silent for a second, staring the book Ruby was holding. It took the two about three seconds before they gave into temptation, and opened the book. It didn't take long before a very imposing, dark presence suddenly fell over them._

" _Can I at least be a chameleon or something?" Ruby groaned._

 **Note: Not much to this chapter really, focusing mostly on focusing Jaune establishing something with Weiss and Blake (for the record, the fact that Ren got a full hug from Yang while Jaune got an awkward half hug from Blake rubs me the wrong way).**

 **Something I surprised more haven't brought up was how I never had Jaune really try and pine after Weiss in this. I omitted it because it mostly doesn't amount to anything. It mostly served to be another stumbling block in Jaune and Pyrrha's building romance. You could cut it, and the story wouldn't ultimately lose that much.**

 **No way was I going to reveal who Jaune was going to the dance with like this. I am completely** _ **not**_ **sorry. By the way, I did it the same way. There**

 **I debated long and hard about including the food fight scene. Mostly because at the time I was for it, I was planning on Darkness be back for the food fight, since I thought his powers could make it a lot more… exciting (that's one way of putting it). But I figured that just one chapter without him was insufficient; it needed more time to sit. At any rate, I also realized that with only two out of eight people knowing about Darkness wasn't going to be enough in order to fully appreciate the potential comedy. To that end, there wouldn't have been enough to set it apart from canon to make it stand out.**

 **We're getting close to the dance at this point. You can be sure that'll a chapter in of itself.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **I'll briefly take this as a time to answer a question some might be wondering, and say which** _ **RWBY**_ **ship my favorite is (because these are the questions humanity is pondering these days). Being honest, if someone held a gun to my head and asked, I would first ask why they cared, and then I'd say it would be Jaune x Ruby; Jaune x Pyrrha isn't even in my Top 5. I'm neutral to female pairings like WhiteRose and Bumblebee. Don't take this to mean the pairing will be Lancaster, it can go anyway.**


	15. Dance Dance Revolution

_**Dance Dance Revolution**_

Weiss stared at Jaune in surprise. Just a little while ago, he had been discussing religion with her, and now he was asking out?

"Um," she said, "Where is this coming from?"

"Well, the dance is coming up," Jaune explained, "And well, I just kind of thinking…" He trailed off. Weiss gave Jaune the once over, considering it all. All things considered, he wasn't bad looking. While he was no model material, he had sort of a simplistic charm. In addition, it wasn't like he had given her any reason to really dislike her. And this was just a simple school dance, so….

"Sure, why not?" she said, with a shrug. This time, it was Jaune who was left speechless. He had chosen Weiss totally at random, thinking it was maybe a 70-30 chance, favoring her saying "no".

"No one else has asked me yet," she continued, "And I suppose I don't have any real reason _not_ to…"

"Uh…," Jaune said, so surprised by the affirmation that he didn't know how to answer it, "Thanks, I guess."

"Of course, Mr. Arc," Weiss said with a nod, before turning on her heel and calmly walking away, calling over her shoulder, "Though I require the right to inspect your appearance prior to it, and make alterations as I see appropriate."

"Yeah!" Jaune answered, "Sure…"

After that, he made his way back to his team's room. When he got back, he saw that the girls were all back; Pyrrha was polishing her shield, Yang was reading a magazine, and Ruby playing a game on her scroll.

"Hey Jaune!" Pyrrha said, as she saw him come back, "Where were you?" Jaune opened then closed his mouth.

"Asking Weiss to the dance," he said. It still felt really weird to say that. And apparently it was very weird to hear, as he suddenly had the attention of all three of his teammates, looking at him like he just turned into a Faunus.

"You don't have to be _that_ surprised."

"No!" Ruby said, jumping down from her bunk, "Its just…" She got a somewhat far away look, as she fiddled with her skirt slightly. Glancing at the other girls, Jaune noticed Pyrrha had looked down towards her shield again, while Yang had dipped her head back in her magazine. They all looked slightly… disappointed. Though Jaune honestly couldn't really understand why.

 **(in Team BRWN's dorm)**

"Wait!" Nora ordered, "You're telling us that Jaune asked you to the dance?" Weiss would normally be put off by Nora's rather intrusive behavior, but was getting used to it at this point (by the gods that thought was frightening to consider).

"I fail to see what's so surprising about that," Weiss said, folding her arms.

"I'm more surprised that you said 'yes'!" Nora continued, "I thought you didn't like him!"

"Where ever did you get that idea?" Weiss said, as she sat on her bed, cocking her head.

"Well, to be fair, you haven't interacted with him that much," Ren said, glancing up from his weapon.

"that doesn't mean I dislike him,"

"Weiss," Blake said, finally speaking up, "Just stop responding. You'll only encourage her." Weiss had a suspicion that Blake was right, though when she glanced at the Faunus, she noticed Blake looked like slightly downcast. Weiss, however, was polite enough to know not to pry; Nora on the other hand….

"What's with that face?" Nora said, leaning forward, "Don't tell me you were hoping Jaune would ask you out."

"Oh no!" Blake said quickly, her face flashing red, which contrasted nicely with her black hair, "I mean, he's a nice guy and all, but…" She cleared her throat slightly, not sure what to say beyond that.

"Well, he did randomly approach me earlier and asked weird questions about the gods," she said.

"Really?" Weiss asked, "He asked me the same kind of question."

"That is a weird question to ask," Ren commented, "Not sure what the idea of it is."

"Do you believe in the gods?" Blake asked.

"Sure, of course," Ren said, "How could I not?"

"What about you Nora?" The orange haired girl just shrugged.

"I dunno," she said, "Just as long as they don't bother me, I guess I don't care about them that much." A strange chill suddenly fell over the room, before quickly fading.

"That was really unnecessary, Weiss."

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't me."

 **(the night of the dance)**

Jaune tugged on his collar slightly, as he waited outside the door of Team BRWN. He still could barely believe that any of this was really happening. Soon, the door opened, and Weiss stepped out in a short, white, sleeveless dress with cutouts on both sides of her waist. Jaune tried not to let his jaw slip off his face at the sight of her.

"You look… really nice," he said.

"Thank you," Weiss said with a glimpse of a smile, before clearing her throat slightly, "Now, are we going?"

"Uh.. yeah!" Jaune said quickly, as he offered his arm for Weiss. Upon noticing it, the heiress considered it slightly. She ultimately decided to take it; Jaune had been acting very polite to him so far, and it would be beneath Weiss to not respond in kind.

The dance was being held in Beacon's ballroom (because of course it had a ballroom), and while the girls were in their dresses, the boys were mostly in their uniforms. When they got there, Jaune was admittedly not sure what to do.

"Sooo… you want some punch?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, thank you," Weiss said with a nod. Actually she didn't really care much for punch, but figured that it may have been the best way for her to start what could very possibly be a long night. But she was going to give Jaune the benefit of the doubt, so she just sighed, and sat down as her "date" went to get something to drink.

As Jaune was getting the cups, he noticed Ruby standing by the table in a red and black dress. Though she was definitely pretty, "beautiful" wasn't the word Jaune would use to describe her. "Cute", that was definitely it; Ruby may not have been beautiful, but she was quite possibly the cutest girl Jaune had ever met if he was being really honest.

"Hey, Ruby!" Jaune greeted.

"Oh, hey Jaune," Ruby said, as she noticed Jaune approaching, "How's it going?"

"As good as can be on a night like this," Jaune said, "What about you?"

"Okay, I guess," Ruby said, "I'm trying to be in the least awkward spot in the room."

"Well, this is might not be the best place for this," Jaune said. Ruby just chuckled at that slightly.

"Maybe so," she admitted as she watched Jaune poor the punch.

"To the socially awkward?" he asked, holding up his cup.

"To the socially awkward," Ruby affirmed as the two tapped their cups together. With that, Jaune wished Ruby well and left to return to Weiss.

"Thank you," Weiss said as she took the cup, and gently sipped it. After a couple minutes, Jaune decided to take the plunge.

"You… want to dance?" Jaune asked.

"That's the reason we came here, yes?" Weiss answered, before accepting Jaune's hand and going onto the dance floor. They started to dance, but it soon became very apparent to Weiss that Jaune had no idea what he was doing, as he quickly missed several steps.

"Be honest with me," she said, "Do you know how to dance?" Jaune was silent for a time, which was pretty telling in of itself.

"Uh… I may have practiced with my sisters a couple times," Jaune admitted. Weiss just shook her head slightly.

"Just follow my lead," she said. She thens lowly started guiding Jaune through the steps of the waltz.

"Hey, I'm doing it!" Jaune said with a smile.

"Yes, yes you are," Weiss said with her own slight smile. The two dance for some time, and despite her apprehensions, Weiss was finding herself having a good time. Something about Jaune being around was kind of…. pleasant. Her mind was broken though when she heard her scroll vibrating.

"Oh! Go ahead and check it," Jaune answered. Weiss did that, and noticed the name "Winter". Her eyes widen briefly.

"Its my sister," she said, "Can I…"

"Of course," Jaune answered. If it was Bianca or Saphron calling, he'd have to answer to. Weiss then moved to leave, before turning back to look at him.

"Thank you, by the way," she said.

"For what?"

"Just… thank you." The girl in white left it at that, and took her leave, answering her scroll as she did.

Jaune sighed as he moved to the edge of the group, as he did, he noticed Blake. though she was in a dress as well, her attention seemed more focused on her book again than the dance. The blonde then decided to give her some company as well.

"Hey Blake!" he greeted.

"Oh, hello Jaune," Blake said, briefly looking up from her book.

"Would you… like to dance?" Jaune said, getting straight to the point. Blake looked up in surprise at that.

"Really?" she asked.

"Well, Weiss had to go," Jaune said, "And I noticed you didn't seem to have anyone with you so… dance?" Blake looked him over, before setting her back down and taking his hand.

"Take it away," she said. Jaune lead her to the dance floor, and hoped that Weiss' brief lesson still stuck after a little time. As they started dancing, Jaune looked at Blake's bow.

"Its too bad you have to wear that bow," he said.

"Why?" Blake asked, confused to hear that.

"Well, you're… pretty without it." Blake's face turned bright red at that, as she looked down slightly. Only a few people outside the White Fang had ever really complimented her on her ears. It wasn't something many humans thought much of.

"You know, the town I grew up was pretty small, but there were a couple Faunus families there," Jaune said. Upon hearing that, Blake visibly flinched, though Jaune didn't seem to notice.

"Sometimes I would watch them and I'd wonder…"

"You're wondering why we can't all just get along," Blake said, as she suddenly stopped dancing, narrowing her eyes at him. Jaune suddenly felt very confused at everything that was happening.

"Uh…"

"Things are never that easy," she said, shaking her head, "People aren't like that." She then started to walk away slowly.

"Actually I was just wondering how it felt to have tentacles," Jaune said, "One of them was a squid Faunus." Blake stopped then looked at him in surprise, before looking down, ashamed of herself for making a judgement about this about Jaune.

"I'm sorry," she said, not looking up.

"Hey, its no problem," Jaune said, being careful to watch his language while in public, "I think you have all people have a right to be suspicious." Blake looked up, and slowly smiled at him.

"You're a good guy, Jaune Arc," she said, "Better than most I've known."

"Uh, thanks?" Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You know, if you want, I hear Rhea June is going to be in town in a couple weeks for her next book release," Blake said, "I was think of going. Would you…"

"Sure, sounds fun," Jaune answered, smiling. Blake returned the smile, before taking her own leave. With two dance partners, Jaune was kind of left at a loss. He looked around if there was anyone else to dance with. He saw Nora and Ren dancing (to the degree Nora swinging Ren around could count as dancing), and to surprise, saw Pyrrha and Yang of all people dancing together, though he couldn't see Ruby anywhere.

Deciding to clear his head, Jaune walked out onto the balcony. Leaning on the railing, he stared up at the stars. He'd danced with two different girls in this day, one a Schnee the other a Faunus. He had a feeling if this had happened any place other than Beacon… The blonde just sighed.

"Ugh," he said out loud, while shaking his head, "Why can't everything just be simpler?"

" **You dwell on things that can not be changed,"** a very familiar voice said **, "Continue doing that, and you will only be tormenting yourself."** Jaune froze upon hearing that voice, as he slowly turned around. Standing before him, in all his glowing, amethystine glory, was the God of Darkness, in his classic stance of his arms folded behind his back.

 _You're back!_ Jaune said, having to remind himself not to talk out loud.

" **I was never truly gone,"** Darkness responded.

 _You weren't invisible, creeping over my shoulder this whole time were you?_

" **Such a thing would be a waste of my time,"** the god said **, "No, I wandered this world, studying its inhabitants, and considering what you said to me."**

 _Sooooo… what did you find out?_ Jaune asked, remembering his last exchange with his tenant _Did you decide you were wrong after all?_

" **No, I am never wrong."**

 _Oh…_ Perhaps that was too tall an order for a god.

" **But I do relent that I… may have misjudged the workings of mortals,"** Darkness said **, "Perhaps it would benefit me if I studied them more directly."**

 _What does that mean?_ Jaune asked, really not liking the sound of that.

" **You will see that in due time,"** Darkness aid. That was not the least be satisfying, but Jaune knew Darkness wouldn't elaborate; and at any rate, as much as he hated to admit it… Jaune found that he kind of missed this behavior.

 _Its… good to have you back_ he admitted slowly. Darkness just nodded to him.

"Hey Jaune!" The blonde looked over to see that Ruby had come up.

"I was…" The girl froze in her tracks, as she saw Darkness standing beside Jaune.

" **Greetings, little one,"** Darkness said with a nod.

"You…" Ruby quickly reminded herself not to speak out loud. _You're back?_

" **In a sense."** Ruby quickly turned to leave, before Darkness held up his hand, and curl his fingers. Ruby was made to halt in her tracks, and with an "eep" was telekinetically pulled back towards to Jaune.

" **Oh no, you and I are going to have a conversation."** Ruby came to a halt before the God of Darkness. She could only look up at the god, as she tried not to shake, but the god just sighed as he looked towards the sky.

" **I have been considering my interactions with you,"** the god said **, "Perhaps my presence can be quite overwhelming, and I suppose I can understand your apprehension to me."** Ruby remained silent as she stared at the ground.

" **But do not punish Jaune for any of this,"** Darkness continued **, "None of any of this is his fault, do not shun him because of my presence."** Ruby clenched her fists at that, knowing that the god was right. She couldn't punish Jaune for any of this.

" **But the most comfort I can offer is this: you may be a simple human, but that does not mean you do not matter,"** the god said **, "When first creating you, I gave you the power of choice. This world is your own, forge your destiny with your own hands."** Ruby suddenly realized she was crying, touching her face to feel the tears.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jaune asked, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Suddenly, the girl in red hugged him, burying her face in her chest.

"I'm sorry!" she said. Jaune wanted to assure her that nothing that happened was her fault, but he decided not to, figuring she wouldn't believe it. So instead, he just returned the hug for the girl. He glanced at Darkness, and could've sworn that even though the god didn't have a real face, he was smiling.

" **Now, I am in a charitable mood,"** Darkness then said **, "So accept this gift."** Looking up to the sky, he waved his hand. As they separated, at first Jaune and Ruby didn't notice anything until they saw a star dash across the sky. Then another, and another, until the night was full of shooting stars.

"Wow," Ruby said, as she stared up in awe, speaking for both herself and Jaune. This sight quickly attracted the attention of the other students, who gathered around in awe to watch the spectacle.

"Where did this come from?" Pyrrha asked as she and Yang walked out with the others.

"I dunno," Yang said, smiling, "But I ain't' complaining."

Weiss had walked up to the roof to get a better signal, and had been staring at her scroll until she saw the stars starting to fall. Blake had walked out to the courtyard and watched the stars, just smiling gently, remembering what the man had said to her that night.

Ozpin had been watching this all from his office, as he took a sip from his coffee. Though he didn't think anything bad about any of this, there was a strange feeling over Beacon, one that he had felt since the semester began. He couldn't really pinpoint what it was, but it felt…. familiar.

Meanwhile back at the ballroom, the students were all on balcony watching the stars fall. Looking over everyone looking up in awe, Jaune smiled. He was starting to think everything would probably work out in the end.

 **(in the classroom the next day)**

If he had known how drastically wrong he would be, Jaune would've leapt from the balcony then and there. He (and Ruby for that matter) could only gape in shock as a tall man with ram horns wearing a black suit and a purple tie with a small staff on his hip, entered the classroom, and faced the class.

"Good morning, students. My name is Dr. Shade," the man said, folding his arms behind his back as a piece of chalk floated behind him and wrote down the name, "From today, until the foreseeable future, I shall be your history teacher."

While the rest of the class watched with what could simply be described as confusion, Jaune and Ruby tried not to scream at the sight of all this.

 _RYPJ Chibi: (sorry, no RYPJ Chibi this time, the country calls)_

 **Note: I chose Weiss the same way Jaune did. I wrote the girls names on scraps of paper, stuck them in my Air Force cover, jumbled them around, and chose one at random. This does not at all mean that White Knight is going to be the final pairing. I wanted to include scenes with Jaune dancing with as many of the girls as possible, but figured that may have been two ambitious, so I decided to have him dance with Weiss and Blake (I chose her at random as well).**

 **Something I'm surprised more haven't brought up was Neptune's absence, plus the scene where RWBY goes looking for Roman. Well be assured that's going to be next. I put the dance first mostly because I had a better grasp on what to do with it that I did with it.**

 **Be sure to review. Also, if anyone wants to make a TVTropes page for this story, please.**

 **A thought that came to mind while re-watching some of Vol. 6, was how much Salem has actually told her followers. Now, Salem almost certainly knows what'll happen when the Four Relics are gathered together (Ozma told her), but do the others know? Mercury said that if they side with Salem they'll be the "top dogs" in her new world; as things stand, if the gods return, there certainly won't** **be** **any world at all. The only possibility I can figure is that Salem hasn't told them the whole story yet.**

 **As for Salem's plan itself, the best I can figure is that Salem has some kind of plan to try and beat them, but that seems extremely unlikely; we all know how powerful the Brothers are, so I don't see how Salem could** _ **ever**_ **hope to defeat them. Maybe she has a plan to use the Relics against them, but even that seems like a tall order. If I'm being honest, I could completely see the Brothers being the real final bosses of** _ **RWBY**_ **, with Salem being a Disc One Final Boss.**


	16. The Substitute Teacher

_**The Substitute Teacher**_

"Now, before I begin, I shall briefly describe myself," Dr. Shade said, "I am from a place none of you would know, so do not ask. My age is irrelevant, so do not ask about that as well. The same can be said for my interests and goals in life."

"So all he really told us was his name," Yang noted.

"I wonder what happened to Professor Oobleck," Pyrrha responded.

"Great now, we've got a substitute," Nora grumbled. That statement was followed by series of muttering by the students about how much sub teachers sucked. A book then floated up in front of the doctor.

"As you can see, my Semblance is telekinesis," he said, "I can freely manipulate any and all items in this room. To that end…" He looked closely at the students, as he held up a finger. Suddenly all the students pencils lifted up into the air, and pointed into their faces. A near universal chill ran down everyone's spine.

"I would advise against antagonizing me,"he said plainly. He then suddenly clenched his fist again, and each pencil snapped in two.

"I presume I am clear?" He got quick affirmations about them from the whole classroom.

"Tell him to lighten up after class," Ruby hissed at Jaune.

"Oh, I'm going to do more than that," Jaune said.

"Did he really have to break our pencils, too?" Ruby grumbled.

"Now, we shall begin," Shade said, as he snapped his fingers, and the projector turned on, "Today we shall be talking about…." The class then began dragging on as all he other's have, and somehow, it was even more boring than having Oobleck teaching it. It probably had something to do with Shade apparently loving the sound of his own voice so much, using some of the biggest words the students had ever heard (his apparent refusal to use the apostrophe added onto that). On top of that, he wouldn't even ask anyone any questions, he just lectured non-stop. Granted no one dared speak up against him again.

During it, however, Blake was just staring at the doctor, recognizing him as the same man who first appeared before her after her fight with Weiss. Never in her life did she think he was going to be her teacher.

"Now, upon the unification of Mistral…" Dr. Shade stopped talking as he glanced up at the students. More specifically, he noticed that Yang had fallen asleep. He then lifted his finger, as all her head started to float up. Shade then dropped his finger, and her head dropped to the desk, shocking her awake.

"I didn't start the fire!" Yang suddenly cried as she was woken from her dream.

"Are you rested now, Ms. Xiao Long?" Shade inquired.

"Yes, Doc!" Yang said.

"It is Dr. Shade. I recommend referring to me as such." Yang just groaned as she leaned on her hand. Despite herself, Ruby giggled slightly, earning an annoyed glance from her sister.

Eventually the class wound to a close, and Shade dismissed them. As the students were leaving, both Jaune and Ruby advanced on him, only for Shade to flick his finger slightly. They were involuntarily pushed out the door with the others. However, he soon noticed Blake coming towards him.

"You were the one who talked to me that one night," she said.

"That I am," Shade answered, as he turned his attention back to the piece of paper he was reading. During this, items were floating into his bag on their own.

"I… I just wanted to thank you for what you said to me," Blake said, smiling slightly, "It really helped me with Weiss."

"I merely spoke with you as need dictated," the doctor answered, as he held open his hand, as an apple floated into his hand.

"But it would still be wrong of me not to thank you about it," Blake said. Shade just nodded as he took a bite out of the apple, watching Blake leave. As she exited the classroom, Blake noticed that Weiss was apparently waiting for her.

"Do you know him?" she inquired as they started walking.

"I've encountered him before but I haven't actually met him before," Blake explained, "After our… argument back then, he talked with me. He gave me some… perspective."

"What did you make of him then?" Weiss asked as they exited the school house.

"He seems pretty smart and, for lack of a better word, wise. I can think of worse people to be a substitute teacher."

"I'm never much to think of substitutes," Weiss continued, "But… KYAH" She was silenced as a familiar form suddenly seemed to materialize in front of her.

"Hey Blake!" Sun said, hanging from the branch by his tail, "And I don't think I've had the pleasure."

"That is none other than Weiss Schnee," a new guy said as he approached. He had tan skin, dark-blue eyes and messy light-blue hair in the form of an undercut He was wearing a red jacket over a dress shirt with gray jeans. On top of that, he had a pair of yellow goggles on his forehead.

"Neptune Vasilias," he said suavely, before offering a hand to Weiss, "Please." Despite herself, Weiss found herself feeling rather charmed by his actions, as she took his hand, before helping he helped up.

"Thank you," the girl said. Neptune just winked at her.

"What're you doing here, Sun?" Blake asked.

"Seeing you, what else?" the monkey answered, dropping down to her level, "And figured I'd introduce my teammate to my new friends."

"Aren't you the Faunus rapscallion?" Weiss asked, "The one who stowed away on the ship."

"Weiss!" Blake scolded.

"I don't care," Sun said with a shrug, "What can I say? I'm a rapscallion."

 **(in the RYPJ dorm)**

Unfortunately, Ruby and Jaune couldn't chew out Darkness as much as they wanted, considering that Yang and Pyrrha were also there, the former lifting weights while the latter going through her notes. The two were then resigned to have to very awkwardly make it look like their attention was one place while it was really on the floating purple giant in the corner. Ruby was trying to look like she was reading her comics while Jaune was trying to look at his scroll.

 _Okay, just give me one solid reason why you thought this was a good idea_ Jaune said.

" **I told you I wished to learn more about the mortals,"** Darkness answered **, "I believe this is the most apt, direct way."**

 _But seriously, a teacher? You couldn't be satisfied with just watching?_

 _Come to think of it, what did you do with Professor Oobleck?_ Ruby asked.

" **I sent him away,"** Darkness answered. The partners both looked straight at the god in terror upon hearing that.

" **If I may clarify, I manifested a great amount of currency within his funds and inserted a desire to go on some extended leave in his mind. Some simple incentive for him to leave if you would."** That was a little better than what the two had in their heads, but still not very good.

 _You can't threaten the students the way you did either_ Jaune said _That's just…. wrong._

" **I see no issue in enforcing discipline amongst undisciplined youths."**

 _Uh, I don't think that counted as just disciplining_ Ruby said nervously _More like… terrorizing._ Darkness looked like he was about to protest, before he seemed to sense something.

" **Dr. Shade is about to be summoned by your headmaster,"** he said **, "I shall return soon."** With that, he faded away. Ruby leaned down from her bunk to Jaune, as the two exchanged a nervous look.

 **(in Ozpin's office)**

Ozpin stared into his coffee cup while waiting for Dr. Shade to arrive. He supposed he could not begrudge Oobleck for wanting to take some time off; this was a pretty strenuous job, though it was rather strange how quickly he was gone. Normally his teachers would give at least some prior notice before leaving like this.

And that was without even thinking about the oh so convenient substitute who seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Ozpin was able to pull his records, and Dr. Shade seemed qualified and legitimate. But he was still someone Ozpin had just met, and was now apparently educating his students. As he was thinking, the door opened, and the Faunus entered.

"You wished to see me, Headmaster," Shade said.

"Yes Doctor, please take a seat." Shade telekinetically summoned a chair which he promptly kicked back in, rubbing his fingers together, clearly completely disinterested in this meeting.

"I'll admit, I was initially thankful for you to arrive when you did," Ozpin said, "But I'm sure you agree with me that this was all rather… sudden."

"What of it?" Shade responded plainly, arching an eyebrow, as he held up his hand. To Ozpin's surprise, his cane flew into the doctor's hand. Most teachers knew better than to touch one of his most important possessions.

"Please Doctor, I must ask you not to touch that item," Ozpin said sternly. Shade just looked at him, regarding Ozpin the way a man might regard an animal. It was now overtly clear what Dr. Shade thought of Professor Ozpin. It seemed Ozpin had to change tactics.

"Forgive me Doctor, but you have to understand my apprehension of someone I never met suddenly appearing and teaching my students," Ozpin said, "I would be doing them a disservice to not… investigate you slightly."

"I can assure you, Professor," Shade said, as he spun the cane through his hand, "There is nothing you need concern yourself with. I am certain if you tried, you could remember my achievements in the past, and know my credentials are completely valid."

"No, I'm afraid I cannot," Ozpin said. That got Shade to look straight him.

"Perhaps you just need _remember a little harder_ ," he said. There was a tinge in his voice that Ozpin couldn't identify, but he didn't dwell on it.

"No," he said, more bluntly this time. This actually got the doctor's attention, who released the cane, which floated back to Ozpin's side.

 _ **Interesting.**_

The two teachers stared each other down for a while, before Ozpin blinked and sighed.

"Unfortunately, with Oobleck's absence, I am in no position to turn away an otherwise apt candidate," he continued, taking another sip of his coffee to relieve some of the tension, "As such, I am left with little option other than to allow you to continue teaching, but I will be keeping an eye on you."

"I would expect nothing less of Beacon's headmaster," Dr. Shade said, rising to his feet "Truly you must be a man of immense experience to have such a world outlook."

"Trust me, you have no idea."

"More than you might realize." With that, the Faunus turned on his heels, folding his arms behind his back, and strolling out. As he did, a rare shudder ran down Ozpin's spine. The stance and attitude that man exuded was disturbing similar to someone he once knew.

 _RYPJ Chibi: The Z-Team_

 _Dr. Shade had just finished another class, and was quite eager to be done with it. He was chewing on another apple going over a paper before he noticed a few people approaching._

" _Hello Doctor," an accented voice called out. Shade looked up to see a rabbit Faunus approaching with a couple other individuals. This included a tall you man in green armor, a young man with dark skin and red hair, and a young woman with brown hair wearing sunglasses and a beret._

" _Yes?"_

" _My name is Velvet," she said, "This is my team, CFVY." Shade looked over them._

" _Mhm," he said, turning his attention back to his paper._

" _Uh…," Velvet said, not sure what to make of the reaction, "I just wanted to say that we all really enjoyed your lecture."_

" _My thanks," the doctor responded, not looking up._

" _We have attended every one of your lectures," Velvet continued, "They were very interesting."_

" _Is that so?" Shade asked, "I am afraid I have no memory of any of you." That caught all of Team CFVY off guard._

" _Really?" Fox asked, "I know you're new here, but we've been here two years now."_

" _And?" Shade responded, as he took another bite from his apple, making it clear he was not even remotely interested in the students. That seemed to throw it into CFVY's lap, as they all reluctantly left._

" _Well that really sucked," Velvet said, "A couple years in Beacon and its like we're a sidetone to everyone."_

" _It appears those new students have the most attention," Yatsuhashi commented._

" _I'm sure someone out there will be interested in our story," Cocoa said, hoping to reassure her teammates._

 **Note: And there's Team CFVY.**

 **To make sure its clear, Darkness just manipulated Oobleck's mind to want to go on vacation, while giving him the means to do that. Is it brainwashing? Kinda, sorta, pretty much. Would Darkness have any ethical dilemma with it? Not likely. But it seems Ozpin's mind can't be manipulated like that.**

 **I tried to introduce Neptune in this chapter, mostly to set up the building conflict. I know some people may be disappointed by the interaction with Ozpin and "Shade", but let's be honest, if Darkness appeared before him now, it would do the story more of a disservice.**

 **An update on the poll, Ruby is still 1st, with Pyrrha being 2nd. Cinder has gained some ground, and is now 3rd.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	17. New Plan

_**New Plan**_

"Imagine if we were a team." Weiss looked up from her tea, as she saw Ruby leading forward on their table. The two of them, along with Yang and Blake, were hanging out.

"Yeah, I suppose I can see that," Blake said, pursing her lips slightly.

"Team RWBY," Yang mused, "Has a ring to it."

"Why is Ruby the leader, though?" Weiss said.

"Come on!" Ruby said, "Its catchy." Weiss rolled her eyes slightly, sipping her tea again.

"Well, enough of that," Yang said, before looking towards their heiress, "Tells us about Jaune."

"What about Jaune?" Weiss said, "You mean the dance? What else is there to talk about?"

"Well, was he nice?" Yang said, "I mean, you danced with Jaune, and later I saw him hanging out with Ruby on the balcony. I think Blake and I are the only ones who haven't really hanged with him."

"Actually, he danced with me after Weiss left," Blake said, "He really was nice."

"Man," Yang said, before joking, "I've got to stake my own claim." That earned some weird glances from the other girls, but the blonde just shrugged.

"He talked to me about religion before asking me out," Weiss said, "It was kind of out of nowhere too."

"Really?" Blake asked, "He asked me the same thing. Kind of a weird thing to ask."

"Tch," was all Yang said, which Ruby was sort of expecting. Ruby knew Yang was an atheist, she always had been, rarely having anything positive to say about any religion, though she (for the most part) at least had the tact to be somewhat polite about it. From her interactions with Pyrrha, Ruby could figure that the warrior was at least partly religious. However she couldn't say the same about anyone on Team BRWN. Considering that a god was now literally watching over them… Ruby almost wanted to see Yang's reaction to Darkness. As far Ruby herself went, her dad hadn't raised her in any religion, though he did teach her about the Brothers. Ruby supposed if she had to say, she'd say she was agnostic.

"Well, at any rate, it was a nice enough evening," Weiss said, "It was a good break from the efforts of the day."

"Yes, I suppose it was," Blake agreed, trailing off, as she looked up into space. Weiss quickly caught on to her attitude, though.

"Alright," she said, "Talk to us."

"What?" Blake asked.

"Last time you kept something to yourself, you, Ruby, and Jaune got caught in a battle at the docks," Weiss said, "And then a strange substitute showed up." She then pulled her chair closer to Blake.

"Now, Blake Belladonna, you are going to tell us what's wrong, right now." Weiss' tone made it clear this was a command, not a request or a question. Even Darkness found himself rather amused at it.

"I… I was just thinking about Roman," Blake said, "And what happened at the docks."

"What about it?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I'm wondering what was going on," Blake answered, "I'm still not sure why the White Fang was working with a man like him, and what they were up to."

"It could be any number of reasons," Weiss answered, as she took another sip of her tea.

"Too many reasons," Blake muttered, glaring at her tea. There was a period of silence between the girls, before Ruby decided to break it.

"So let's go and find out the reasons!" the red head declared. That was quickly followed by another period of silence, as everyone stared at her.

"Say what?" Yang asked.

"We go out and look for there reasons why they were there," Ruby affirmed.

"Please, tell me your joking," Weiss said.

"Why? It just… feels like the right thing to do."

"Ruby," Blake said softly, "Take it from someone who has been doing stuff like this for a long time. Its never that easy."

"I'm not saying it will be," Ruby answered, "But that doesn't mean we can't do anything."

"Ruby," Yang said slowly, shaking her head, "I don't disagree with you, but this isn't like…"

"I know!" Ruby all but snapped, surprising her sister and her friends.

"Ruby…"

"This is what we have to do!" Ruby declared, as she stood up, "The problem won't disappear if we don't pay attention to it. At least this way, we can figure things out for ourselves." The girls stared at her for a time.

"Well look at this," Yang said, "My baby sister's starting to get a way with words." Blake remained silent, before eventually nodding in affirmation.

"Hold up!" Weiss said, holding up her hands, "Let me be the voice of reason, since apparently no one else wants to be. We can't go charging into harms way like this half-cocked. We would need a plan, not to mention we can't forget that we're all on different teams. What would Jaune and Pyrrha think of this, or Ren and Nora."

"Knowing them, I'd think they'd want to be on board too," Ruby said.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Weiss asked. Ruby looked down as she clenched the fabric of her skirt.

 **(later)**

"I don't know how you convinced the princess," Yang said as she and Ruby headed back to RYPJ's dorm, "Normally trying to convince Weiss of something is like preaching to a wall of ice."

"I'm not entirely sure myself," Ruby said, "Its just … OOF!" Ruby suddenly fell on her back a she ran into something, though when she looked up, see it was in fact someone he had run into. A girl with short teal hair, save for two strands that hung to her waist, with red eyes. Behind her was a guy with gray hair in a gray coat and pants.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ruby said.

"Don't worry 'bout it," the girl answered with a smile, "I'm still getting used to this place." She then rose to her feet, dusting herself off slightly.

"The name's Emerald Sustrai," the teal haired girl said with a smile, offering a hand, "The punk with me is Mercury Black."

"And he can speak for himself," Mercury added as Emerald hoisted Ruby up.

"You sure?" Emerald quipped, "Knowing you…" Mercury growled slightly.

"Now, now you two, play nice," a third voice said. Looking past Emerald and Mercury, Ruby saw a tall young woman with shoulder length dark hair, and amber eyes, wearing jeans and a brown vest. She had a very confident, almost arrogant air about her, but not in the same way the God of Darkness did. It was hard to explain.

"Cinder Fall," she said, offering a hand "My colleagues and I are from Haven. We're hear for the Vytal Festival."

"Well, I'm Ruby, and this is my sister, Yang," Ruby said as she took the hand.

"'Sup," Yang said, with a slight wave.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Cinder said kindly, "Now I'm sure we'd all love to stay and chat…"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Mercury comment,d only for Emerald to sock him in the shoulder.

"I'm afraid we must be getting to our dorms," Cinder continued.

"You're looking for your dorms?" Ruby asked, "Then you're in the wrong place. Transfer student dorms are across the way."

"Ah!" Cinder answered, "Thank you for your directions." She gestured for her teammates to follow as she made her way down the hall.

"See you 'round," Emerald said, as she and Mercury followed, as the sisters watched.

" **Do not trust them."** Ruby looked up to see Darkness was now looming over her, "glaring" after the newcomers.

 _What do you mean?_

" **Trust my judgement, little one,"** the god answered **, "Watch all of them closely, but do not trust them."** Ruby just cocked her head slightly, before following her sister.

 **(that night)**

It really wasn't hard for the girls to convince their teammates to join in on their little crusade. They were now all striking out in the early morning.

"Okay, so once we get into Vale, we'll split up," Ruby said, "We'll meet up tomorrow night at the docks."

"Is that it?" Jaune asked.

"It's the best we've got for now," Yang said.

"Its still not enough," Weiss added, "We need a better plan."

"We'll just improvise," Nora declared, "Its what our teams do best. Just look at initiation." Jaune tried not to remember that a lot of what happened was actually thanks to Darkness' direction. Speaking of which…

"And just where do you all think you are going?" Everyone recognized that smooth, over spoken voice.

"Dr. Shade!" Weiss said as she saw the Faunus approaching them. He wasn't wearing his suit; rather he was wearing a a black trench coat with black pants. Notably, he wasn't wearing a shirt, which showed a dragon tattoo on his chest, and his arms were fooled behind his back as always. For some reason, it seemed that the area got darker as he approached.

"My name is not an answer," Shade said plainly, narrowing his eyes, "I expect a real one."

"We're going into the city to find information," Blake answered.

"We're going on an adventure!" Nora declared with a smile, pumping her fist, "We're going to…"

"No, you are not," Shade interrupted, as he positioned himself in front of them. Everyone was surprised by the bluntness of the doctor (save for Jaune and Ruby of course). But they weren't going to give up just yet.

"We're doing this," Ruby still declared, as she, her sister, Weiss and Blake all made their way past the doctor.

"You should know I cannot let you go this easily," Shade said plainly.

"Try and stop us," Yang responded. Shade held up his hand, halting all four girls in their tracks, before flicking his wrist as they whirled around, and were pushed back into place.

"Okay, should'a seen that coming," Yang admitted.

"Now, I can either transport you all to your places of resident, or you can go willingly," Shade continued, "Both are equally simple for an individual such as me."

"We have to do this," Blake said firmly, "We can't just let this go."

"You can make us go back to our dorms, but we'll just sneak out again," Ruby said.

"I will find you and repeat the process," Shade said, as he leaned forward, "Again, and again, and again."

"And we'll try, again, and again, and again," Ruby answered, "Its our choice." That actually gave Shade real pause.

"You once told me how important choice was," Jaune said, "This is our choice, and you can't stop us, or change our minds." Shade looked carefully at them, considering what they all said. They all had determined looks on their faces. It was clear that they had all made their choice. And it would be completely against **his** principles to deny them their choice at this point. So the doctor only sighed at this point.

"Well then, if that is the case," he relented, "I will not try and stop you." Affirmed by that, the group started to move past him, only for them to all be halted in their tracks.

"But I will be accompanying you," he added, as he turned to face them, holding ups his hand, "And that is _**my**_ choice." The students looked at each other, considering that.

"Well, he might be helpful to have around," Ruby said. There was a major understatement, if ever there was one.

 **(in Vale)**

It didn't take long for RYPJ and BRWN to get into Vale, and once they did, they quickly split into pairs. It went as follows: Yang and Blake, Ren and Nora, Ruby and Weiss, and Jaune and Pyrrha. As for the good doctor….

As he watched them go, Shade just sighed. _**Mortals**_ he thought. However, instead of following any of them, he opted to go his own way, in a completely separate direction. Eventually, he made his way into a cafe.

"What can I get for you sir?" the waitress asked as she approached him after he sat down.

"The beverage known as 'hot chocolate'," Shade answered as he summoned a book out of his pack. The book was about the Great War, albeit told from an Mistral perspective. As he was reading, he noticed a couple men at the table giving him side glances. With his enhanced hearing, Shade could hear them muttering about "Faunus trash". Not in the mood to deal with it, Shade ignored them; if they tried anything, they wouldn't be a problem.

"You should not do anything rash." Shade froze at that, upon hearing the oh so familiar voice, before chuckling as he looked up.

"Welcome, my brother, to the world that was," he said.

 **Note: Obviously, I didn't copy what was in canon. I wanted to do my own take on how the teams go. This was getting a little long for my taste. This might've seemed a little rushed, but I'm pressed for time. I'm no perfectionist on my stories (my perfectionism is dedicated towards my service).**

 **This next part could be any length at this point. I'm not sure how it'll go, and when it'll come. I've been busy as of late; we're not at war yet, so I guess that's a good thing. Being in the Air Force means I've got to keep an eye on political affairs (especially in this day and age).**

 **Writing this story means I have to consider the characters' religious beliefs. Yang, for example, always strikes me as an atheist; I don't know why, but Weiss made me think agnostic, and Blake makes me think "spiritual" but not "religious".**

 **Be sure to review.**


	18. Light and Dark

_**Light and Dark**_

 **Note: I edited the previous chapter to suit the story slightly. Primarily, instead of Shade splitting off going with each group, he just went to the cafe. Also, this chapter will be short; I'm not going to give any justifications this time, because people don't seem to accept them. So, if I may channel my commander slightly:** deal with it **.**

Standing before Dr. Shade was a man just as tall as he was, also bald and cleanly shaven. Unlike Shade, however, this man had light brown skin, and wore a white coat over a golden shirt with white pants. On his neck was the head of a dragon that seemed to go down to his chest. Most notably, a pair of white antlers came from the top of his head. Shade knew exactly who he was.

"Please, sit," Shade said, gesturing, "It has been some time since we last spoke." The man, simply known as "Gleam", narrowed his eyes as he did so.

"Why are you still here?" Gleam asked plainly, "You should have returned by now."

"Straight to the point," Shade said, as he snapped his book shut, "I am here to observe the people around me, just as I told you before."

"You could have done this back where we belong," Gleam said, folding his arms, "We should not be in this world at this time."

"And yet here you are, with me," Shade answered plainly. Gleam narrowed his eyes, tapping his finger on the table, but did not say anything more.

"Being amongst them has given me an…. interesting perspective on the affairs of the world," Shade continued, "One far more interesting than one I could've gained just by watching from a distance." As they were talking, the waitress came back with Shade's drink.

"Can I get you anything, Sir?" the waitress asked Gleam.

"My brother will have the same thing I am having," Shade said. The waitress just nodded before leaving. As she did, Gleam looked over the restaurant at the people.

"The mortals truly have fallen far without our presence," he said solemnly, "I remember when rooms like these would be lit with the glow of magic, and creation would be springing all around us. And combined with the technology they now have, their structures would be grazing the clouds themselves."

"I say again, what happened was no fault of our own," Shade said, as he took a spoon, and stirred his drink, "They rebelled against us, we acted accordingly."

"Though it seems they are no closer to making peace amongst themselves," Gleam added.

"You are asking what is impossible of them," Shade said, "They have always been a contentious race, even in our time." Gleam just sighed.

"There is still time," he said, "Judgement need not come yet." Shade did not respond to that, as he sipped his drink again.

"Though I will admit, there are many things about this world that I find rather… confusing" Shade continued, "Perhaps you could enlighten me?" Gleam was silent for a time, during which the waitress brought him his own hot chocolate, only for the man to ignore it. Perhaps his brother was right; much had changed, and there was much to be discussed.

"Very well," he said, with a sigh, "Where should we begin?"

"Perhaps we can start with the ones with the silver eyes," Shad answered, as he sipped his drink, ignoring how hot it was.

"What of them?"

"They are creations of your's, yes?" Gleam was silent for a second, tapping his finger on the desk, which was all the answer Shade needed.

"Explain."

"When you and I left this world, not only did you take away the magic, you left your spawn without direction, and our creations without means of defense," Gleam explained, "I knew they would ravage the planet indiscriminately. To that end, I left a select few of them with a sliver of my own power. Anything of your creation that they encounter, they can defeat." Shade was silent again, as he considered what his brother told him. He supposed he couldn't fault him too much for it.

"Speaking of your creations, they truly have run amok in our absence," Gleam said, as he finally took a sip of the hot chocolate, "They have always been violent beasts, but it seems your absence has only enhanced their ferocity." Shade was silent about that; he had noticed it as well. During their days, his beasts would attack those who went to deeply into places they should not have gone, and on occasion, the larger, and more daring ones would attack human settlements. And even then, they would freely attack the animals his brother made. Now they freely sought out and slaughtered humans (and Faunus), and them alone. It was… abnormal.

"They do not possess Choice," Shade said, as he sat back, his finger tracing the cup's rim, "But I cannot speak as to why they are acting the way they are."

"Could something else be directing them?" Gleam inquired.

"If you speak of the woman, it is not impossible," Shade answered, "But for them to have become this aggressive…. something else is at work here. Tell me of _your_ creations." Gleam was silent for a time.

"What of them?" he asked.

"Do you know what they have been doing in the age since we departed?" Gleam's silence was telling, but before their conversation on that could continue, some new noise alerted them.

"Hey, Faunus!" The brothers glanced up. The same couple of young men Shade had noticed when he first arrived had come over to him.

"Can we assist you in anyway?" Gleam answered calmly.

"Animals like you shouldn't be in places like this!" one of the punks said, "You need…" As he was ranting, Gleam just rolled his eyes, and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the two men vanished. Somehow, no one else in the restaurant seemed to notice anything. Perhaps that was to be expected.

"Where were they sent?" Shade asked, as he finished his drink.

"The land of these 'Faunus' people," Gleam answered.

"You always had a rather poetic sense of justice," Shade commented, "Speaking of which, tell me of these 'Faunus'."

"I… do not know," Gleam said after some hesitation, "But they were were not made by these hands, that I do know."

"Do you think…" Shade didn't finish, as both he and his brother mulled over the thought.

"…. I would not know. I would have to investigate the issue myself."

"I shall be sure to also explore the issue further when I get the opportunity."

"I noticed some of those Faunus is a comrade of the mortals you have associated yourself with."

"You inspected them yourselves?"

"I did," Gleam answered, "They… also intrigue me. They all have a touch of destiny about them."

"Why do you speak of destiny?" Shade asked, looking his brother over slightly, "I remember you and I debated it extensively when forging them. We decided not to bind them to destinies."

"No, we decided against setting fates into stone. Destiny is allowed to progress as the mortals walk it, as directed by the powers that be."

"Do not forget, Brother," Shade said, " _we_ are the powers that are."

"Indeed we are," Gleam answered with a nod. With that, they both finished their drinks, after which Shade paid them.

"I remember when the mortals would leave drinks such as those at the foot of my shrine," Gleam said as the two walked down the street.

"I imagine it was thoroughly satisfying," Shade said, not bothering to hide a bitter tone.

"Do not fault me with the mortals that did not come to you," Gleam said, "It was not as if your dwelling was especially… welcoming." Shade just scoffed slightly.

 _RYPJ Chibi: Faunus Cleanliness_

 _Shade was passing the time with a book (_ not _smut for a change), glad to have the day finally over._

" _Dr. Shade." The doctor glanced up to see Blake and Velvet standing by his desk._

" _Ms. Belladona," Shade greeted, before looking at Velvet expectantly._

" _Scarlatina," Velvet said with a slight sigh._

" _We were just wondering how you kept your horns so shiny and clean," Blake said._

" _Is that so?" Shade said, arching an eyebrow._

" _Well, how do you do it?" Velvet said, "Blake and I are always trying to keep our eyes clean but have trouble at times." Shade was silent. It wasn't like he could give the_ real _answer to them. Though maybe he could…_

" _Magic," he answered, truthfully. But both Velvet and Blake just stared at him at that, not sure what to make of what any of that._

" _Magic?" Blake asked, trying to confirm what she just heard._

" _Indeed." The Faunus girls exchanged looks, before both just sighed._

" _Well, thanks anyway," Blake said. As the two of them left, Shade just shrugged, before going back to his book._

 **Note: A lot of writing this chapter was trial and error; seeing what did and didn't work. I determined that the purpose of this chapter would for Light and Darkness to discuss their creations, and for them to consider them. Also, they were supposed to progress as they did in canon. I considered putting Shade in some of the scenes, but outlines didn't lead to much contribution. I ultimately determined that would might just work best is having Light and Darkness just talking with each other at the cafe in their mortal forms. Something calm, and simple. Yes, I could've added this onto the next chapter, but I didn't. Why? Because I didn't want to, its that simple.**

 **So, this chapter gives the reason for the Silver Eyes, which I think would make sense in canon as well. This was the most fitting, and efficient way to reveal it. I could've done a long arc with Ruby and Darkness exploring it, but it would've dragged on far too longer than necessary, and would've done the story more harm than good.**

 **On another note, I'm inclined to think that the Grimm, while still aggressive, were not as big of a threat to humanity when the gods were present. I imagine that the God of Darkness prevented the Grimm from indiscriminately attacking humans (though humans that went looking for trouble probably still found it); take note that when Salem came to the Land of Darkness, the Grimm didn't immediately maul her. In addition, he was the one who gave them the power to use magic, likely to defend themselves. Of course, once he left, there was nothing keeping the Grimm at bay anymore, and no reliable means for humanity to defend itself beyond Dust and Semblances.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	19. Battle of the Paladdin

_**Battle of the Paladin**_

As the day started to wound to a close, and dark began to set in, most of the students didn't actually have that much to show for their efforts. Jaune and Pyrrha were making their way to the shuttle stop where the group had agreed to meet back up.

"So, an entire day, two dozen dock workers, and practically squat from any of it," Jaune grumbled.

"Well, we got something," Pyrrha said, trying to be optimistic about everything, "We know that whoever is doing this isn't going through any of the docks. So we've narrowed the list slightly."

"Great, we found out that 1+1 _isn't_ 63," Jaune grumbled sarcastically. Though after saying that, Jaune glanced at Pyrrha, who was looking kind of downcast. Jaune briefly kicked himself for that.

"Sorry about that," he added, "Its just… long day."

"Don't worry about it," Pyrrha said, patting Jaune on the shoulder, "We're all pretty worn out from this day. I wonder if anyone else had any success."

"We can only hope at this point," Jaune answered.

"I wonder what Dr. Shade was doing during this," Pyrrha mused out loud.

"Who know's?" Jaune answered. He honestly didn't want to think about what the god was up to in Vale.

"Maybe…" He couldn't finish as right then he heard his Scroll ringing. Checking it, he saw that it was Blake. Soon Pyrrha notice the exact same thing, from the exact same person.

"Uh… hello?" Jaune said, as he went to answer the Scroll.

" _Everyone"_ Blake screamed _, "If you can hear me, we need back up! And we need it now!"_

All across Vale, the members of Team RYPJ and BRWN picked up on the message, and one singular thought prevailed amongst them: help their friend. With that, no matter where they were, or what they were doing, they stopped it, and went out to find Blake.

 **(with the Brothers)**

The gods had both shed their mortal forms, and were now floating in the air framing the CCT tower, looking out over the city of Vale. As they did, Darkness suddenly stood up slightly straighter.

" **My presence is required, I sense it,"** he said.

" _I will not stop you, Brother,"_ __Light answered _, "But I should tell you that if you fully manifest in this world, I will have to as well. And if we are both present…"_

" **I know, Brother, you need not remind me."** With that, Darkness turned into a wisp of shadow, and vanished to find his mortals. Light just watched, before shaking his head slightly, and faded into nothing.

 **(with Blake)**

It was not necessarily that Blake though she didn't deserve some of the bad that happened her, since she knew she deserved at least some of it. But sometimes the Spirits seemed a little too keen on punishing her. Her mother said that the Spirits were not indicative, but considering what Blake was going through, it was hard to feel like that, as she clung to a truck racing down the Vale highway while being chased by a Paladin piloted by one Roman Torchwick.

Blake had managed to infiltrate a White Fang rally in the city's shadier areas, only to find it was being hosted by a human. It was easy then for Blake to conclude that this was not the primary White Fang, as Sienna Kahn had a standing policy of never engaging with humans in any way other than force. It had confused Blake to no end, but it was rendered moot, as her cover got blown. One thing lead to another, and here she was. She had to give Torchwick this, he was persistent.

She was broken from her thoughts when she had to leap from her current truck to a passing car as Roman knocked the former out of the way. As Blake landed, Roman grabbed at her, only to grab one of her shadow clones instead. Blake suddenly seemed to appear on top of the mech, and tried firing a few rounds into the mech's head. However the armor was too thick to make much of a difference, though as Roman fumbled to get Blake on top of him, it caused the Paladin to lose its footing and fall off the highway. Blake landed hard on the ground, though her aura deflected the worst of it, and she was pretty quick back on her feet, though so was Roman.

"Looks like its just you and me, kitty," Roman sneered. Blake just cringed as she got ready to fight, only for a very familiar voice to call out.

"Have no fear, Nora's here!" Blake had only time to look up, before a hammer attached to an orange haired girl slammed down on the Paladin's top. While it wasn't powerful enough to cause significant damage, it put it off balance, after which Ren came up, slicing at the "face", causing it to stumble. Ren and Nora quickly took their places at their teammate's side.

"You okay?" Ren asked.

"Thanks to you," Blake said, "Where did you come from?" Ren coughed nervously at that.

"Let's just say the arcade is going to be closed for the next week or so," he said.

"Its not my fault the hammers there suck," Nora protested.

"Stay on task you three," Weiss said as she dropped in, having followed the sound of destruction.

"Alright Team BRWN!" Nora declared, as she held up her hammer, "Let's kick this thug's ass!" With that, all four of them launched themselves at the mech. Roman swung its fist down, which everyone in the group easily dodged.

Now, while they may not have had as positive a start as RYPJ, they still all understood (or at least had come to understand) the importance of teamwork. So it wasn't like they hadn't been practicing, and while they may not have been practicing got fight a Paladin, the principle wasn't that different from fighting a large Grimm.

Blake and Ren ran at Roman, zigzagging between each other as they did; Ren had the speed while Blake had the agility. As the former was running, Roman fired the Paladin's energy guns at her, though she easily avoided it with her shadow clone. She then appeared on top of the Paladin's head, catching Roman's attention, and allowing Ren to circle around, and fire up towards the mech's "chin". As the BR were keeping Roman's attention, Weiss took a breath, as she switched Myrtenaster to Ice Dust.

"Ren!" she called. Nodding in understanding, Ren leapt down to the ground, firing at Roman's face, irritating him, and causing him to chase him. Once he was close enough, Weiss let loose her Dust at the raised fist, freezing it solid.

"Nora!" Ren called, "Do it now!"

"Hit me Weiss!" Nora called. Knowing exactly what the girl meant, Weiss switched the Dust to lightning, and launched it Nora. It hit the girl straight on. Nora gave pause, as she felt the electricity channeling through her body, before with a yell she charged at Roman again. Blake swung down via Gambol Shroud's ribbon catching Nora with her hand, and throwing Nora at the mech. With a roar, Nora brought it down, releasing one of the grenades as she did. The sheer force of the attack, combined with the frozen joints, shattered the mech's fist.

"Hell yeah!" Nora declared, "That's what I'm talking about!" Weiss let out a relieved sigh at their accomplishment. It may not have been fully beaten, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Why you little shits!" Roman swore. He then stood the mech up straight, before a series of missiles came out of the back, causing Team BRWN to have to scatter. While the missiles all missed, the shock wave sent Blake and Weiss tumbling away. In the confusion, Ren then got backhanded, and sent tumbling away into a column, his aura flashing low.

"Ren!" Nora cried out, as she ran over to him.

"I'm okay," Ren said as he started to stand up. Nora would've made a jape about needing to beat Roman, but figured it didn't help at this point. Their teammates came up to them, ready to continue the fight. However, in their stunned states, Roman moved to fast for them. Weiss only had just enough time to use her glyphs to propel her team away. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to really coordinate it, causing them to tumble haphazardly away. This time, it was Blake slamming into a column.

"I think I'll squash you first," Roman said as he approached her. The dazed Faunus looked up, trying to get up, but for one doubted her ability to get out of this, this time. Fortunately, she had more friends than just RWN.

"Eat fist asshole!" A yellow flash slammed into the side the mech, sending it stumbling away. It didn't take long for Blake and the rest of her team to recognize that flash. Yang skidded to a halt, as she readied her gauntlets.

"No picks on any of my friends except me!" she declared.

"What're you guys doing here?" Nora asked as the rest of Team RYPJ came up behind Yang.

"We just followed the sound of destruction," Pyrrha answered., "it wasn't hard to find."

"Look who's talking," Weiss grumbled.

"Are you really so helpless without us?" Yang said with a smirk..

"What're you talking about?" Nora asked indignantly, "Do you not see it's missing one hand?" Yang just smirked as she got her weapons ready.

"We'll top that," she said.

"Ready, Team RYPJ?" Ruby asked as she cocked Crescent Rose.

"Like you even need to ask," Pyrrha answered with a smirk, readying her sword and shield. Roman just charged towards the group, his weapons primed.

"Milk and Cereal!" Ruby then called out. Knowing what it meant, Pyrrha threw her shield. Pyrrha then activated her Semblance, repelling it away, and through the air towards Roman, after which Ruby hooked Crescent Rose onto the shield, as it carried her towards the mech. She then activated her Semblance as Roman swatted at her, swerving though its legs, putting him off balance again.

"Dragonslayer!" Jaune held up his shield, which Yang jumped on. Jaune then pushed her off, as Yang fired her gauntlets, launching her into the air towards the Paladin. She brought her fists down, punching the machine in its gut, not doing much physical damage, but causing it fall down.

"We need to make names for our attacks," Nora whined. Looking around, none of her teammates looked very enthusiastic about the prospect.

"Philistines," Nora grumbled.

"That's a big word for you, Nora," Weiss quipped, though she was soundly ignored.

"King Me!" Ruby declared. With that, Team RYPJ acted as one. They all charged side by side at the giant mech, holding up their weapons, as Roman moved at them. As he got closer, Jaune and Ruby split off from the group, as Yang and Pyrrha stopped. As Roman brought the mech's fist down, Pyrrha released her semblance, knocking it back. Yang then leapt up, and punched the machine in the "chin", making it stumble back further. That was when Ruby acted, using her Semblance to go up close, before firing a point blank shot into the mech's eye, blinding it partially. In this blindspot, it failed to notice Jaune aiming, and throwing Crocea Mors at its arm (as a little extra measure, Pyrrha gave it a little boost). The sword struck true, in the mech's shoulder, completely destroying the arm, and causing the mech to fall to the ground. The now rather worn out Team RYPJ gathered to observe their handy work.

"Hah!" Yang declared, "Beat that BRWN!" Nora just pouted.

"Nice moves here, Jaune," Pyrrha said, patting her teammate on the shoulder.

"Hey, it was Ruby's plan," Jaune said, smiling at his partner. Sadly, the girl in red didn't get a chance to say anything herself, as Roman suddenly held up the remaining arm, and fired the mech's energy gun, forcing the teams to scatter. The force of the explosion sent several of them tumbling away. For his own, Jaune barely had time to get up before Yang slammed into him.

"You okay?" Yang asked her teammate and when Jaune groaned in response said, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"Well there was some deja vu," Ren grumbled, as he rubbed his head. He couldn't dwell on any of that, as Roman emerged from the dust, charging at the now dangerously depleted teens.

"Let's end this!" he declared as he held up the mech's fist.

" **Enough!"** The fist of the mech suddenly froze. Roman didn't even have to question, as the mech was then thrown backwards by an unseen force as if it weighed nothing. Knowing what this meant, the teams all turned to see Shade approaching them, his hands folded behind his back as always.

"Dr. Shade," Pyrrha said, "What're you…"

"Stand aside, all of you," Shade commanded.

"No way, we started this fight, we're goi…." Yang was silenced when Shade waved his hand, sending all eight students tumbling away from the fight. It immediately became apparent to both RYPJ and BRWN that they were not being given any choice on the matter.

"I really wish he would stop doing that," Jaune said, rubbing his head.

"Look buddy," Roman said as Shade approached him, "I don't know who you are, but I've got no beef with you, so just move along before you do something you regret." Shade didn't seem to even be paying attention, as he removed his trench coat, revealing his bare torso. The only major trait was the dragon tattoo that decorated his chest, that seemed to glow purple.

Shade then reached behind him, and when his hand emerged, he was holding the staff he would often be seen with. It didn't so much seem to extend or open, so much as it seemed to transform. Its turned into a glaive longer than he was tall, tipped with a sword (not a blade, a sword). The shaft was purple, while the blade itself was pitch black, though there was a carving on it that resembled the same dragon that Jaune had on his sword, that glowed purple.

"Fine then, don't say I didn't warn you," Roman said, before he fired the last of the Paladin's rockets. Shade didn't even blink as the rockets bore down on him, as he kept advancing on Roman.

"Dr. Shade!" Blake called out, as the other students looked on in horror. That is, save for Ruby and Jaune, who didn't look the least bit worried. Turns out they were right, as Shade just flicked his wrist slightly. All the rockets immediately changed course, and flew into the ground several hundred yards away from everything.

"What in the hell?" Roman muttered out loud, "Now that's a Semblance." He then fired the Paladin's energy gun. However, Shade just held up his weapon, as the energy crashed into the spear. The energy didn't seem to be reflected either, so much as absorbed into the weapon. Realizing this wasn't doing anything save wasting power, Roman gave it up.

"Allow me to be clear," Shade then said, as he spun his glaive through his hand, "Whatever it is you are doing, none of it holds my interest. But I am afraid that the children you are threatening are of personal interest to me, and I would much rather not seem any of them harmed. To that end, I would recommend you take your leave now." Roman scowled in his cockpit.

"Screw you!" he roared as he charged forward in the Paladin, bring its fist down. Shade easily sidestepped it.

"Pathetic fool," was all he said, before he swung his glaive. The moment the glaive made contact with the waist of the Paladin, the mech simply ceased to exist, vanishing in a flash of purple smoke. Roman dropped to the ground as his weapon vanished into thin air. The crime boss was left stuttering in shock as Shade loomed over him. As for RYPJ and BRWN, even Ruby and Jaune were astonished to witness that.

"By the Spirits," Blake murmured.

"What… what is he?" Weiss asked.

 _And this is just him in mortal form_ Ruby thought. Shade then held up his hand, as Roman floated up to his eye level.

"You… bastard…," Roman forced out, "What in the name of the Brothers are you?" For a brief instance, it looked like Shade smirked upon hearing that. He then opened his mouth, before he suddenly closed it, and swung his fist out. The air then seemed to shatter, revealing Neo Politan being thrown back.

"How did…" Roman couldn't finish his question, as he telekinetically thrown to where Neo was.

"I will say this only once: leave these children be," Shade then said, " Failure to do so, will result in further consequences."

"This isn't over!" Roman declared as Neo helped him up, "I'll get back at you if it's the last thing I do!"

"Please do not tempt me," Shade responded, as he arched an eyebrow at the criminal. This time, he got no response, as Roman and Neo faded into the wind like dust. Once they were gone, the doctor took a breath.

"Well, that was actually somewhat amusing," he said, as his glaive collapsed back into a stick, and he slipped it onto his belt. His coat then floated up to him, and put itself back on, somehow completely devoid of dirt. When he looked back at the children, though, he noticed them staring at him in shock.

"What just happened is nothing any of you need concern yourselves with," Shade answered, narrowing his eyes at them, before he boosted them to their feet telekinetically, "Now come, we are returning to Beacon." Nothing really left for either team to do, they started following the doctor back. They were all in a rather stunned silence, which the resident heiress decided to try and break.

"So, I guess you could say Roman's plan, went up in smoke," she commented before looking to her friends. They were all just staring at her.

"If Yang or Nora had said that you'd all be rolling on the floor," Weiss grumbled.

 _RYPJ Chibi:_ **(No RYPJ Chibi I'm afraid, too busy and too worn out)**

 **Note: I debated including Sun and Neptune in this, and decided not to, mostly because in the original, there were four people with two add ons for six total. Here I had eight people to write for, which would've given ten total. It became a little too much for me.**

 **But holy Hell/Duat/Tartarus/Helheim (piece of trivia, the modern term "Hell" is thought to be derived from the name of the Norse goddess of death, Hel (or Hela)), this chapter was hard! Doing this battle presented a similar challenge to aforementioned one, as instead of four teens going against one, mech it was eight teens against one mech, and you throw in an all powerful god into the mix (albeit one in a mortal avatar). I definitely wanted to have Shade ultimately finish it off, if only because it'll play into a scene later. I wanted to give both teams some action, but this still had to chiefly be RYPJ's fight. "King Me" was especially difficult, because you need to draw from four characters (one of which is still a so-so fighter) who have barely actually worked together in canon, and give them a complete move set that compliments each other. It took A LOT of revision before I finally settled on something.**

 **Some might wonder why Jaune didn't just use CM to destroy the mech right off the bet. But which would've you preferred? A battle with strategies where we see RYPJ working together, or a two line "fight".**

 **And yes, I did give RYPJ attack names based on the ship names.**

 **Be sure to review. We'll be doing the field trip arc next, which I've really been looking forward to.**

 **On a somewhat less important note, I recently got** _ **RWBY Vol 6**_ **on Blu-Ray, and I was actually watching it on my hi-def TV as I was working on this. In the hi-def, the gods' colors are much richer, with Light being a brilliant gold, and Darkness' purple being so deep it almost looks blue. Interesting how rendering works like that. Additionally, a thought I got while watching the directors commentary was how they intend to have the story end. It will likely end with the gods being summoned, but I think the question is where things will go from there. My best guess is that RWBY will try and tell them off, and they'll leave of their own accord.**


	20. The Field Trip

_**The Field Trip**_

"You know James, you really do worry too much," Ozpin said, as he sipped his coffee.

"If I didn't 'worry', here do you think we would be now?" General James Ironwood demanded. Ironwood was one of the highest ranking officials in the Atlesian military, and a longtime associate of Ozpin. He had shown up to the Academy only a day ago, and already, he was trying to lecture the teacher. A tall man with broad shoulders, and a metal plate in his head, he all but irradiated authority. However, neither Ozpin nor Glynda seemed the least bit impressed by his frusturation.

"An Atlesian Paladdin was stolen right from under the guard's notice," Ironwood said, "It could so easily escalate into something worse. Imagine if they went after the Knights!"

"That will not be necessary," Glynda said.

"James," Ozpin said calmly, "I can assure you that the situation is under control. Everything you said did not happen, thanks to our brave students." Ironwood looked out the window over the school, and the students bustling about it.

"And that strange Faunus you know have in your employ," he added. Glynda looked to her boss at that, also somewhat curious about that. Ozpin was silent for a time, sipping from his mug again.

"Dr. Shade did his duty as a teacher, protecting the students," he said eventually.

"What do you know of this man?" Ironwood asked plainly, despite knowing the answer.

"He is a capable fighter and teacher," Ozpin said, "I imagine if he was allied with them, he wouldn't have sabotaged their efforts the way he did. But do not take my word for it."

"What are you…" Ironwood paused, before his eyes narrowed slightly in realization. Right then, the elevator dinged, and the familiar black-clad Faunus stepped out.

"General James Ironwood, I presume?" the doctor asked. Ironwood instinctively tensed his body in anticipation.

"Dr. Shade," he responded, "I suppose it's good to meet you face to face."

"I am sure," Shade answered, "Now, what answers can I give you?"

"First of all, where are you from?"

"I am also curious about that," Glynda said.

"Nowhere you would know," Shade answered.

"That is not at all satisfying," Glynda answered, with her typical frown that would normally make most shrivel up, could even cause Ironwood to flinch, though Shade didn't so much as give her notice.

"I am **sure** you do not need to know," Shade said, a strange twinge in his voice. Both Glynda and Ironwood's eyes seemed to briefly glaze over.

"Well, I suppose you're right," Ironwood said. Ozpin narrowed his eyes slightly upon noticing it.

"So what was your occupation before being a teacher then?" Glynda asked.

"I suppose you could say I had many jobs," Shade explained, "Some might call me something of a builder and a designer."

"An architect perhaps?" Ozpin inquired.

"I suppose you could say that as well," Shade explained.

"And why did you wish to become a teacher?" the headmaster asked. Shade considered the best way to answer that. He figured manipulating their minds, while easy, wasn't always the preferable course of action, and it didn't seem to work on Ozpin. So he decided to give at least some of the truth.

"I am an old mentor of one Jaune Arc," he answered, "I decided that it would be doing a disservice to him to not continue his education personally."

"You said Jaune Arc?" Ozpin asked, arching an eyebrow, "Why him?"

"That is a personal matter," Shade said plainly. Glynda and Ironwood glanced at Ozpin, who seemed to accept that.

"One last question," Ironwood said, "How were able to destroy the mech Torchwick so easily and completely?" That was actually going to be a difficult question. Obviously Shade couldn't give the real answer, but what could he give? Holding out his hand, his staff floated into his hand, which expanded into its glaive form. Upon seeing it, Ozpin nervously noticed the dragon on the blade.

"In my weapon is a unique form of Dust," Shade answered, "When utilized, it causes a chain reaction that destroys anything it makes contact with."

"That is… peculiar," Ironwood said, "I am quite familiar with Jacques Schnee, and I've never heard of such Dust."

"Again, it is quite rare. Perhaps it is not found in Solitas."

"Perhaps," Ironwood said, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, does that satisfy you, General?" Shade asked.

"For now," Ironwood said.

"Then I will take my leave. I bid you all a good day." The Faunus then calmly walked back to the elevator.

"Keep him at arms length when you can, Ozpin," Ironwood said, glancing to the headmaster, "There is something… strange about him."

"Trust me, James," Ozpin answered, taking another sip, "You are far from the only one to notice that."

 **(a couple days later)**

"Finally!" Ruby said, pumping her fists, "Its time for the field trip!" She and the rest of her team were making their way to the docks, having finally finished a rather tedious speech from Ozpin about the importance of their role. He seemed remarkably good at those.

"Get ready Grimm!" Ruby said, pointing to nothing, "Ruby Rose is coming for ya!"

"I don't get the appeal of this," Jaune said as he trailed behind the girls. Even though he didn't have to worry about anything from the Grimm, that didn't make him enthused by the prospect of any of any of this.

"Come on, Joan," Yang said, using the latest nickname she had for Jaune, "It won't be so bad."

"I think it'll be fun," Pyrrha said, "It'll be a chance for some hands on experience." The field trip in question was to a designated area that was populated by enough Grimm for the students to practice their abilities on. RYPJ was told to meet their teacher at the docks.

"I get that much," Jaune answered, "But is it really safe for first year students."

"Come on?" Yang said, putting her hands behind her head, "How bad could it be?"

"Just the fact that you asked means it'll probably be pretty bad," Jaune said, rubbing his forehead.

"Hey Team RYPJ!" Nora called, as RYPJ saw BRWN coming up to them, "What a coincident!"

"What're you guys doing here?" Ruby asked.

"This is where our instructor is going to be," Weiss answered.

"But…," Ruby said after a pause, "This is where _we_ were supposed to meet him."

"Well, we were told to come here too," Blake responded.

"Really, I wonder why… ah crap its going to be Shade isn't it?" Jaune said.

"How very astute, Mr. Arc," the doctor said as he approached the group. He was dressed in his trench coat again, though he now wore a black turtleneck under it. Floating behind him was a rather large, and somewhat overstuffed backpack.

"Now come, we have places to be," Shade said as he made his way past the students and onto the Bullhead.

"Are you kidding?" Yang asked, "You know there are other students here, right?"

"Oh I know," Shade answered plainly, not even turning around.

"We aren't going to…." Yang was silenced when the Faunus held up his hand, and though nothing happened, the message was made clear.

"We're coming," Yang relented, as the eight teens followed their professor into the vehicle.

"So where're we going?" Nora asked.

"You will see."

"I thought we were going to go hunt Grimm," Ruby said unhappily.

"Again, you will see, so take your seats, all of you."

"I hate it when adults say that," the reaper said, pouting slightly. Once the teens had all sat down, the Bullhead took off.

"Now, while we are waiting to arrive," Shade said, as he turned to face his students, "I will take this as an opportunity for some more education."

"Ah, not more lectures," Yang groaned.

"Actually, this time, I have a question for all of you," Shade said as he "sat" in mid air with his telekinesis. This actually got (some of) the students attention, as they turned towards the doctor.

"Tell me, which is 'good, if you will, light or darkness?" There was a period of silence, as the students stared at their teacher, somewhat stunned by the question.

"Well that's not a big question at all," Jaune muttered.

"Well, light is certainly good, right?" Weiss said, "That's what everyone seems to believe."

"Well, they are incorrect," Shade said plainly.

"So, dark is good and light is bad?" Ren asked.

"No, that is not correct either," Shade answered.

"Enough with the riddles," Weiss complained, "What are you saying?" Shade was silent, as he looked at his students, waiting for them to come to the conclusion themselves. Pyrrha was the first to finally figure it out.

"Neither light nor dark are inherently good or bad," she said, "They are just two sides of the coin; one can't exist without the other." Shade nodded at that.

"Without the light you will get lost in the dark," he said, "Without the dark, the light will blind you." The team exchanged looks at their teacher's words, not entirely sure what to make of them.

"Now tell me, what is your role as huntsman," Shade continued.

"Well, to its prevent the pointless destruction and loss of life caused by the Creatures of Grimm," Pyrrha said.

"Not inaccurate, but an oversimplification," Shade answered, "Your role is not to prevent destruction, but to preserve balance in this world."

"But… I thought destruction was evil," Blake said.

"Is destruction evil?" Shade responded, "Or is it merely an intrinsic part of existence? And creation and life are not the bastions of good you believe it to be. Tell me, what happens when too many people convene in one place?"

"Well," Weiss said as she thought, "Resources start to dwindle. And when resources start to dwindle…"

"Life begins to falter," Shade finished for her, "Exactly."

"But I thought our role as huntsman was to protect creation from beings of destruction like the Grimm," Ruby said.

"You're goal is to provide balance to this world. To prevent destruction from consuming the world, while at the same time, while allowing the natural order to take place; a natural order that destruction is a part of. Creation and destruction form the same balance as light and dark. Without one, the other is meaningless." The students contemplated everything that the Faunus said to them, before a thought suddenly came to Weiss.

"Wait a minute, who's flying this Bullhead?" she asked.

"No one," Shade answered simply, before noticing the panic rapidly gathering on his charges' faces, after which he explained, "I am guiding it to the location with my Semblance." That calmed the group down, but for Weiss, it raised another question.

"You seem to be able to do a lot your Semblance? How powerful is it?" Shade held up his hand, as Weiss' case opened, and one of the Dust vials floated out. It then unscrewed itself, and the powder floated out, and through Shade's fingers.

"I can freely manipulate anything, so long as I know what and where it is, and where I want it to go," he explained, "Weight, size, and properties are no issue. Honestly it is is not so much telekinesis, as much as me commanding it to move, and it doing so."

"You must have a massive Aura to be able to hold such a large thing for so long," Ren commented.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that."

"That's… incredible," Blake said, awed by such power, "

"Yes, it is," Shade answered, "You will all be getting a thorough demonstration after we land."

"What does that mean?" Jaune asked, somewhat nervous now.

"You will see," Shade answered.

"Seriously," Ruby griped, "Why do adults say that so much?"

 _RYPJ Chibi: Officially Endorsed By…_

 _Yang sighed, bored out of her skull as she flipped the channels on the TV._

" _Seen it… not interested… seen it… (pause)_ really _not interested," she mumbled, before groaning, "There's nothing on!" She then flipped onto the next channel, and saw a familiar face._

" _I'm Pyrrha Nikos, and when I'm tired after a day of championships and sparring, I like to sit down with my Z-Station 5 for a long evening of relaxation."_

" _Huh?" Yang asked dumbly, before flipping into the next channel._

" _I'm Pyrrha Nikos, and my favorite hydration is Cacti Soda. Nothing will quench you, its the quenchiest!"_

 _*flip_

" _I'm Pyrrha Nikos…."_

 _*flip_

" _Hey, Pyrrha here!"_

 _*flip_

" _Here's Nikos!"_

 _Just then, the door opened, and the same red head strolled in._

" _Hello Yang!" she greeted, "What are you…" She then saw what Yang was watching, and her eyes turned to dots._

" _Uh…," Yang said slowly, pointing at the screen._

" _Just… just read the fine print when signing a contract," Pyrrha said with a sigh._

 **Note: A talky chapter this time, since I wanted to give at least one scene before the next big event, and something quiet after the last chapter. Let me say, a lot is going to happen in the next couple chapters. I'll just leave it at that.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	21. The First Test

_**The First Test**_

After some more flying, the group eventually made it to the remains of what looked like a city. It mostly consisted of skeletal ruins of buildings and piles of rubble. As the group disembarked, Shade scanned the surrounding area, rubbing his chin. Normally there would be creatures of Grimm swarming the area, but they were all gone, as if someone had sent them all away.

"What happened here?" Jaune asked.

"As far as I know, this was a settlement that got overrun by Grimm, and abandoned," Pyrrha said.

"I hear there are a lot of settlements like this," Blake said, "People try and expand beyond the existing population centers. However, when they can't afford to hire huntsman, the Grimm always overwhelm them." Upon seeing that, Ruby's brow furrowed.

"When I become a huntress, I'm going to do everything for free!" she declared, pumping her fist. Shade glanced slightly at her, narrowing his eyes, before turning his attention to the ground, as he fell to one knee, running his hand across it, as if looking for something.

"Uh, Doctor?" Ren asked. Shade held up a finger, signaling for the students to be quiet. The group just exchanged confused glances and shrugs with each other.

"Ah there it is," the Faunus said, as he stood up, and turned to face them all.

"What is it?" Yang asked.

"Up until this point, you have been educated in a controlled environment," Shade explained, "Perhaps it is an ample way of teaching you the basics, but it is not sufficient all things considered." Jaune gulped slight, not liking where he really hoped this wasn't going.

"So, what do we do now?" Nora asked.

"Simple," Shade said, as he held up one hand. Rubble floated up beside him. He then put his fingers together like he was about to pluck a string, and lifted it up. A pipe then unearthed itself, wreathing like a worm.

"Wait…," Ruby said as it quickly dawned her and the others. Shade narrowed his eyes at the group.

"You can defend yourselves." He then flicked his wrists, sending the objects hurtling towards the team, who were forced to scatter. As they did so, Shade slowly started walking forward, waving his hands and fingers, sending more rubble and metalwork flying through the air towards his charges.

"Remember, your enemies will give you no chance to gather your thoughts, to ready your weapons, to plan your attack," Shade said to them all as he advanced, watching Blake scale a building. Snapping his fingers, the rebar of the building came out burst out, knocking her off. She then skidded along another pipe Shade pulled out of the ground, before tumbling to the ground. Shade then noticed Ruby running down the street.

"You must all be ready at a moment's to fight against any threat," he explained, as he pointed towards the red head, who was using her Semblance to weave through the rubble, going up the side of the building as she did. A wall of rocks erupted in front of her, and while Ruby managed to disengage her Semblance, she still slammed into it.

Deciding to change tactics, Weiss took a breath, as she switched her rapier to fire Dust. She then pointed it at Shade, releasing a burst of fire. The doctor didn't even turn as the fire came at him, as he shifted very slightly causing it miss him. He then snapped his fingers again. More pipes came up from around Weiss, baring down on her like King Taijitu. The heiress could only keep running.

"You can hope for the best as much as you can," Shade continued, "But you must always anticipate the worst. You can hope things will go right. But you must always anticipate things to go wrong." He noticed Jaune trying to hide behind some rubble.

"It should go without saying that you cannot hide from your fights," Shade said after swatting the rubble away.

"This isn't a fight!" Jaune protested as he tried running. Shade just rolled his eyes slightly. However he couldn't go after the teen, as Yang tried to take the initiative, and go on the offensive, launching at her teacher with her weapons primed. Shade, however, easily sidestepped her, before using his Semblance to fling the blonde away, and straight into Blake.

Raising both hands,causing a bunch of bricks to levitate off the ground, Shade then wiggled his fingers. This caused the bricks to partially dissolve into what looked like a series of spikes. They then dashed towards Ruby, who was able to evade most of them with her Semblance. However, Shade flicked a finger, as some cable came out of the ground, coming at Ruby like striking snakes. The reaper let out a cry as she cut them away.

Eventually, Shade looked around, he noticed all the students were trying to desperately avoid his attacks, but to little avail. To that end, the Faunus rose his hand, as more wreckage came up all round.

"Fight!" he yelled, "Fight as if your lives depended on it!" Apparently getting the message, the group tried to actually fight against their "opponents", but to little success. Jaune may have had some success if not for the fact he spent most of his time just trying to dodge the wreckage than anything else.

Eventually Shade either got bored, lost interest, or had his point proven, as he then clenched his fist. Immediately, the pipes around Ren and Pyrrha clenched into a barrier; beams folded down over Yang, pinning her down; the cables wrapped around both Nora and Weiss, binding them together; the rebar bent and contorted until Blake was completely entrapped; lastly, the ground rose up around Jaune and Ruby, forming a cage.

"Because one day, it will," he said, "And that is the one thing you can be sure of." The Faunus then waved his hand, releasing all of them.

"That is enough for one day," he said, as he started to walk away, "Rest, and we will continue tomorrow."

"Are you crazy!" Weiss shouted as she leapt to her feet, "You could've killed us."

"I know I could have," Shade answered, as he looked to her, "But I did not want to."

"You're a teacher!" the heiress blurted.

"That I am."

 **(that evening)**

The team was doing their best to unwind after such a stressful day, but they weren't having much success. They were sitting in what might have been a garage before the city was abandoned. Their situation wasn't helped when Shade came over with a bunch of packs, tossing one to each of them.

"This is your evening meal," he announced. Weiss took a close look at the pack.

"Wait, these are Atelsian MREs," she said.

"'MREs'?" Ruby echoed.

"'Meals ready to eat'," Pyrrha explained, "They're essentially quick mate meals. They're often used by the military."

"That they are," Shade answered, as he sat down across from them, "Now I repeat, eat."

"This doesn't count as food," Weiss protested.

"And yet it is all you are getting, now I shall say it one last time: _eat_ ," Shade commanded. Realizing he would probably literally shove the food down their throats if they didn't, the students started doing that, some with greater difficulty than others. Weiss, Ruby, and Jaune in particular seemed to be struggling. Shade then summoned a larger rock than the others.

"Now tell me, why did you all decide to become huntsmen?" the doctor enquired as he sat down. The teens all looked up at that question.

"What was that?" Blake asked.

"You heard me," Shade answered, folding his arms, "Now tell me your reasons for wanting to be huntsmen." There was more silence as the group apparently looked for their reasons. Ruby was the first to come up with one.

"I just wanted to make the world a better place," she said plainly but firmly, "To be like those heroes in the old stories. Those who fight for what's right because its right." Shade then looked to Yang.

"Well, I guess if I'm being honest, I always been a thrill seeker," she said, "Being a huntress allows me to go out on all the crazy adventures I love. Its a super bonus if I can help people along the way." Then it came to Pyrrha.

"Well, I just feel like it was something I was meant to be," Pyrrha said, "I've always had a drive to be a huntress, since I've been young. It was like it was my destiny."

"I…," Jaune paused, trying to find a satisfactory answer, "I guess I wanted to prove myself worthy of my family legacy. Show that I can be as good as them."

"There's too much wrong in the world for nobody to do anything," Blake said, "If I can make a difference, its my responsibility to do something about it."

"I lost my family and my home to the Grimm," Ren said, "If I can stop it from happening to others, then I have an obligation to do so."

"I'm a Schnee, with a legacy to uphold," Weiss said, "The moment I realized I could fight, it stopped being an ambition, and became a responsibility."

"I'm just looking for a real, honest to goodness adventure with my Ren," Nora declared, giving what might have been the simplest answer. Upon hearing all of them, Shade was silent, as he rubbed his chin slightly.

"Small reasons, all of them," he said, "Insufficient in a world such as this." That actually caught the group off guard, even Jaune and Ruby. Though they had come expect a real degree of bluntness from Shade, this seemed different.

"These reasons are petty, based in either idealism, self-righteousness, or plain self-interest," Shade continued, "You have no true vision or drive, no real will to make the world better for the generations to come."

"But I said…," Ruby tried to say.

"You are a child reenacting the stories you grew up with," Shade interrupted, "You do not understand the true gravity of your role and your responsibilities." He then looked to the others.

"Ms. Xiao Long, you are driven by a desire to satisfy your own thrill seeking desires, not to do any inherent good."

"Wait just a minute…"

"Ms. Nikos, you are doing this because you believe it is something you have to do; because you think it is a matter of destiny." Pyrrha just looked into her lap.

"Mr. Arc, you want to become a huntsman not to truly protect others, but as a way of self affirmation." Jaune honestly couldn't argue with that.

"Ms. Belladonna, you want to be a huntress because you feel you have a responsibility to atone for your past. A way of redeeming yourself." Blake's ears twitched under her bow.

"Mr. Ren, what you seek is revenge, plain and simple." Ren didn't say anything, as he knew he was right.

"Ms. Schnee, you are looking to prove yourself worthy of your family legacy." Weiss didn't seem to distressed by that, having come to terms with that a long time ago.

"Ms. Valkyrie," Shade said as he looked at Nora, who was silent in anticipation, "You are simply following the lead of the man you care for." Nora and Ren glanced at each other at that.

"I leave you these words to mull over," Shade finished, before standing up, "Now **sleep** , all of you." Almost instantly, the group started to feel tired. It wasn't long before they had all turned in for the night and fast asleep.

With that, Shade took a breath, as he stood up, and walked out of the building. As he did, he then shifted out of his mortal avatar, and into his divine form. Glad to no longer be bound like that, he strode down the road, staring at his handiwork in the moon. He considered what his brother had told him, that if he fully manifested, the day of judgement would have to come. Darkness had also been intervening far more than he had otherwise anticipated, and soon it may come to a point where any further intervening would require his complete manifestation. Darkness then came to a personal conclusion. However, he couldn't dwell on that conclusion, as he suddenly turned and stared into space, tensing up slightly.

He sensed something, something…. old. It was powerful, more powerful that most beings that existed in this world, though still less powerful than him or his brother. The god was being watched; whirling around, he caught a glimpse of something slip behind a building. Turning into a wisp of dark energy, Darkness chased after it, weaving through buildings. However, whatever was watching him had vanished.

Darkness reformed at a cliff, as he looked into the forests. The presence was gone, leaving the god to ponder its identity. There were few beings in existence that could outmaneuver him like that, and those few vanished when the Brothers left the world…

" **Could it be…,"** he mused out loud. But it couldn't have been. It shouldn't have been. And yet…

Thinking about that made Darkness realize something: the teams were completely unequipped to face the higher threats he knew existed in this world. They would have little trouble with some of his average creations, but they are the proverbial small fish in what was a very big pond. They would face a greater threat one day, probably soon, and when they did…

With those thoughts, Darkness came to another personal conclusion.

 **Note: So something has caught the god's attention. What is it?**

 **In my opinion, MREs ("meals ready to eat") are really hit or miss, and I think any military person reading this may agree with me. They came in all sort of varieties, ranging from beef stew to chicken enchiladas. If you're lucky, you'll get one of the better ones, which may have some candy or sweets in them too (assuming those aren't confiscated). But the for the most part, you're going to eat some (hopefully) palatable, but probably not delectable food matter.**

 **This was a shorter chapter I know, but it served its purpose. Shade's take on RYPJ and BRWN's goals is exactly what it seems like: an immortal, all powerful being, critiquing a group of children. Some might argue that Shad is wrong for the critiques he's giving, and maybe he is. But bare in mind he's an ancient being who has likely seen both the best and worst of humanity, so it'll make sense for him to be something of a cynic.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	22. A God Rises

_**A God Rises**_

Ruby let out a cry as she ducked under a strike from an Ursa, before slashing open its stomach. A Beowolf came up behind her, though she easily evaded it, and fired her rifle, blowing its head off.

"That is not an effective practice, Ms. Rose!" Shade called out as he walked past, "You could have used one bullet to strike down them both." Ruby opened her mouth to answer.

"Stay on the task at hand," Shade said, as he gestured to another few Grimm advancing on her. This made the red reaper dive back into battle. Shade then continued walking.

He had woken the group up earlier saying that a sizable amount of Grimm were advancing on their location (as if someone had actively summoned them). Both RYPJ and BRWN were now being made to fight with little preparation again. It was now apparent to them that was the point of Shade's field trip; to train them on short notice fighting.

"Do not waste ammunition like that, Ms. Xiao Long," Shade said as he kept walking, "Aim for more vulnerable spots, Ms. Belladonna. Mr. Ren, attack with more force; Ms. Valkyrie attack with less force, you are trying to kill a Grimm, not bring down a building." A Beowolf launched itself at Shade, who just summoned a few pieces of rebar, and impaled it. For a little extra measure, Shade had instructed a few of the Grimm to attack him as well.

As he watched the creature fade away, his attention was drawn to Weiss, who with a combination of her glyphs and her Dust, was making good progress. Switching the Dust in Myrtenaster to electricity, she was able to stun a charging Beringel, allowing her to run one of them straight through the head.

"Good form, Ms. Schnee," Shade complimented. Weiss allowed herself to give a smug smirk. However, it stayed for only a few seconds, before her attention was shifted to an Ursa coming at her. Shade shook his head, as he kept watching, swatting away a Beowolf as he did.

Eventually, Shade came across Jaune, who was fighting a King Taijitu. While he was able to "dodge" the Grimm without much trouble as always, it didn't seem to be trying to actually attack it. Shade narrowed his eyes as he approached the blonde.

"You must go on the offensive at some point," he said.

"I'm trying," Jaune began, "But…"

"No, you are clearly not trying," Shade interrupted, "Now I recommend you start trying a little harder." Jaune took a breath deciding to take his advice. When the giant serpent struck again, Jaune jumped out the way, and stabbed into the side of its head, causing the enchantment to kick in, and the beast to be destroyed.

"I got it!" he said excitedly.

"Are all the Grimm slain?"

"Uh…"

"Then you still have more to do." Shade then waved his hand, pushing Jaune towards a group of Creepers. With that, he kept walking.

Despite his criticisms, he had to admit the students were doing otherwise well; they all understood how to fight and how to kill the beasts. But these were among the lowest of his creations and anyone who had any fighting ability would be able to defeat them without issue. There were far fiercer forces of the world, and not all of them were created by Darkness' hand.

Eventually, he had enough, and sent the remaining Grimm away. The students then all gathered in the center of the city to take a break. Shade, while not necessarily impressed, was otherwise satisfied.

"You weren't half bad, Joan," Yang said, socking her friend in the shoulder slightly.

"Still not good enough," Jaune grumbled, as he sheathed his sword.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Ruby responded as she came up next to him, "You did pretty good, I think." Jaune wanted to agree, but had to remember that a lot of his success was still because of Darkness' blessing. Maybe he had improved, but if he did, he didn't notice it.

"Not a bad display," the doctor said, as he approached them, "But you are using your energy inefficiently."

"What do you mean?" Nora asked.

"Think of it like this," Shade elaborated, "You would not use two slashes of a sword on strong spot when you could use one slash on a weak spot. The longer a battle it lasts, the greater a toll it takes on your Aura. Any battle must be finished as quickly and efficiently as possible."

"Well, what do you recommend then?" Weiss asked.

"In the event you cannot anticipate your enemy, be observant in battle," Shade answered, "Look for their weak point, what they can do, and what they cannot do. And act on it appropriately." He then held up his hand, and bottles of water floated out of his pack and to the students.

"We will have another exercises within the next three hours," Shade said, "In the mean time, gather your strength, and consider your tactics." Knowing exactly what Shade was doing, the students didn't protest.

 **(later that night)**

In accordance with Shade's instruction, each one of the teens had to spend an hour a night on watch. As it was, it was Ruby's turn. The red head yawned widely, as she goose stepped down the ruined roads, Crescent Rose on her shoulders. She then looked up at the broken moon before noticing a familiar presence. Standing on a cliff, overlooking the wilderness, was Darkness. Curious as to what he was doing, Ruby approached him.

" **You should be on patrol, not here,"** Darkness said as she came up behind him.

 _I was just wondering what you're doing here_ Ruby answered as she came up next to him _What are you looking at?_

" **Nothing you should concern yourself with,"** Darkness answered. Ruby then looked out in the same direction Darkness was, though didn't see anything. What she did notice, however, was a herd of Goliath moving in the distance.

 _Look!_ she said, pointing _Grimm!_

" **I can see them. Before you ask, no, I did not summon them and you will not be fighting them tomorrow."**

 _Should I…_

" **There is no need,"** Darkness answered **, "They will not attack."**

 _But I thought Grimm mindlessly attacked everything they saw?_ Ruby said as one of the Goliath seemed to gaze at them briefly.

" **My creations are not capable of true choice, but they are not mindless,"** Darkness explained **, "Rather, they are capable of at least basic reasoning. They only seek to bring destruction, yes, and they are 'born' as blank slates. But they gather experience as time goes on, and as they gather experience, they come to understand certain aspects of cause and effect."** As she listened, a thought came to Ruby.

 _Why are they drawn to negative emotions?_ she asked. Darkness was silent for a time.

" **I did not make them as such,"** he said **, "It appears that in my absence, someone has tampered with them."**

 _Tampered?_ Ruby asked, surprised to hear such a reason _But how does that…_ Darkness suddenly held up his hand, silencing her.

" **Hide yourself,"** he commanded. Ruby was about to ask why, but she figured when a god said it, he was probably right, so she hid behind some rubble. As she did, she noticed a some people moving through the shadows. Looking closer, she noticed they were White Fang.

" **Rouse the others,"** Darkness instructed, and when Ruby didn't immediately act, he commanded **, "Now!"** Ruby then quickly ran back towards where the camp was, but as she got further, the ground beneath her feet simply wasn't there anymore. With a cry, she tumbled down into the underground. On reflex, Darkness rose his hand to intervene, but stopped. He remembered the decision he made to himself; if he intervened now… To that end, he did the only other thing he could still do as he shifted back into his Shade avatar, and hurried back to the camp.

 **(underground)**

Ruby was lucky that her Aura was still able to absorb the worst of the landing, but it still hurt, and she was left dazed. As she sat up, she rubbed her head, trying to regain her bearings. Looking around, she was in what looked like an underground construction site, maybe a train system if she had to take guess.

"Did you hear that?" a voice said.

"Sounds like there was a cave in." That quickly snapped Ruby back to reality, as she took shelter behind some debris. As she did, she noticed more White Fang thugs appeared out of the shadows.

"Damn, good thing it wasn't near the work area," one with deer antlers commented.

"We should tell the ass about this," the other one, who had a cat tail, added. As they made their way back down the hall. Taking a breath, Ruby looked up at the hole she fell through. She sure wasn't going back up that way. Chewing on her lip, Ruby made her way to Crescent Rose, however, as she did, a boot put itself on the scythe. Ruby looked up to see a girl in pink and white.

"Is it too much to hope you're the ice cream lady?" Ruby asked nervously, as Neo just sneered, and conked her on the head with her umbrella.

 **(on the surface)**

"Come on, we gotta put out the fire," Jaune said in his sleep, as he shifted in his sleeping bag.

"No dad, I don't wanna put out the fire," Yang said a couple bags down in her own sleep as she tossed and turned slightly. The rest of the group was sleeping relatively soundly (save for Ren, who felt an unnatural amount of pressure, as if someone was squeezing him in his sleep), thought as Shade approached, it wasn't long for this world. As the doctor approached, he held up his hand, as the group all floated a couple inches off the ground. He then let them go, causing them to slam in the ground.

"Pancakes!" Nora cried as she let Ren go.

"What the heck was that for!" Yang said angrily.

"Your comrade is in danger," Shade sad, narrowing his eyes, "Now go and save her." That quickly got the attention of the team. Yang lead the way out in the direction Shade pointed them, only for them to all be pulled back to the Shade's position.

"It must be stressed, that your objective is to save Ms. Rose, not defeat the thugs," the doctor said, "Is that clear?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Yang said quickly, before continuing to run.

"Wait up, Yang!" Jaune said as he and Pyrrha went after their teammate. BRWN wasn't far behind.

"Where are you going?" Blake asked, stopping to look at her teacher. Shade cracked his neck slightly.

"To smite the remaining thugs on the surface," he answered, "Now go." Blake wasn't sure about his choice of words, but knew she had to help Ruby. Shade summoned his glaive, as he began to seek out the mites.

 **(underground)**

Ruby soon regained consciousness, as she was being dragged down by more White Fang thugs with Neo leading them. They had brought Ruby into a more open room, with what looked like a train docked. The White Fang seemed to be loading it with something Ruby couldn't identify.

"Its weird, that really aren't any Grimm around," one of the Faunus said, "I heard this place was crawling with them."

"There were a lot yesterday, but then they were all gone again. Don't know what the human is planning now." That made Ruby remember that Darkness had sent the Grimm away, but what did the White Fang want with them. And who was this human…

"Well, well, if it ain't little red," a familiar voice said. Ruby looked up to see Roman standing over her. Of course it was him.

"Are you stalking me?" Ruby asked, glaring.

"Last I checked you the one who snuck down here."

"Well, more like I fell…," Ruby admitted, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Roman sneered, "I'm going to enjoy getting rid of you." He then turned to one of the White Fang.

"Get the train ready," he instructed, "We're doing this sooner than planned."

"What about the kid?"

"Tie her to the train tracks," Roman answered, "And do it now. Her friends probably aren't far behind." Not willing to spend anymore time in Ruby's presence, he walked away. As she followed him, Neo stuck her tongue out at Ruby while pulling her eyelid. The White Fang then started dragging Ruby towards the train.

Glance over her shoulder, one she was far enough from the train, Ruby decided to make her move. With a shout, Ruby pushed off with her Semblance. This caused the thugs to lose their grip, though the sudden movement caused Ruby to lose her footing once she reverted, as she rolled over herself. However it helped her get away, and she completely got back on her feet, and started running.

"Get the human filth!" one of the thugs said as they chased after her. However, they didn't get far, as a red and yellow flashes came down and struck down both of the thugs chasing Ruby.

"Ruby!" Jane called as he slid down the rubble towards his partner, the rest of her friends not far behind him.

"Jaune!" Ruby answered.

"I think you dropped this," Jaune said, giving Ruby back Crescent Rose.

"I'm sorry I dropped you, sweetie!" Ruby said, cuddling her scythe slightly.

"You okay, little sis?" Yang asked, grabbing Ruby's shoulder.

"Never better with you guys," Ruby answered as she readied Crescent Rose.

"Now let's get… outta here," Nora trailed off, as out of the shadows emerged more White Fang soldiers. _A lot_ of White Fang soldiers.

"Where do you even find this many people?" Yang asked.

"You'd be surprised how many Faunus are lashing out after this long," Blake answered, as she drew her weapon. And it was all too true, as dozens of Faunus emerged, armed with all sorts of weapons. Roman and Neo weaved their way out of the crowd, with Roman's new weapon on his shoulder. It looked like his old one, though it had a jeweled end instead of a cane.

"Huh," he mused, "Eight for the price of one. This day may not be a total disaster after all." Neo just smiled in anticipation. Though they were all viciously outnumbered, neither RYPJ nor BRWN intended on giving up at this point.

"Let's show these guys who they're messing with!" Yang declared, as she readied Ember Cecila. Pyrrha just grinned in agreement, as the two fist bumped.

"You have my back?" Ruby asked her partner.

"I've got way more than your back," Jaune answered, as he squeezed Ruby's shoulder. Ren and Nora looked at each other, as Ren squeezed his best friend's hand.

"Never thought I'd be fighting the White Fang with a Schnee," Blake commented to Weiss.

"And I never thought I'd be fighting them with a Faunus," Weiss said, before looking at Blake and smiling, "But I'm glad to say I'm fighting them with a friend."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Blake said, as she switched Gambol Shroud into its sword form. With that, the White Fang all charged with Neo at the lead, as RYPJ and BRWN tensed up in anticipation. Turns out they didn't need to, as there was a burst of telekinetic energy that kicked up a large amount of dust, causing the Faunus to give pause. It was then that Shade dropped down to their level. Most of the teens let out a sigh of relief as they saw him, though to their confusion, he tossed his glaive away.

"I had my suspicious, but I did not expect to see you again so soon," he commented, looking straight at the mobster.

"You!" Roman growled, seeing the Faunus who utterly curb stomped him in his mech.

"I warned you there would be consequences if you did not withdraw," Shade said slowly, as his Aura began to glow, "You did not heed that warning."

"Screw you! You damn animal!" Roman roared, as he pointed his new weapon at him.

"And now, you shall face the consequences." With that, Shade simply held up his arms as his Aura glowed ever brighter, until there was a flash of dark energy. He doubled in height, as his clothes disappeared, his skin turned a glowing purple, as if made of energy itself, and his facial features vanished. The Faunus was gone, and in his place, was a god.

The atmosphere turned dead still, as everyone took in the presence of this being. The sheer power he exuded seemed to be outright suffocating. The air around him seemed to ripple and contort with energy.

"What… what am I looking at?" Yang said, being the first of either RYPJ or BRWN to find any words at all. The rest were only looking in what could best be described as a combination of awe and terror. Pyrrha in particular was dumbfounded. The being in front of her was near identical to the one she would see her parents pray to each week.

"He did it," Jaune murmured, "He really did it."

" **In your arrogance and foolishness,"** Darkness said as he began to move forward **, "you thought you could defy me."** As he did, his horns began to grow and his body began to contort as spines and what looked like wings started to appear out of his back. Roman seemed to gain some some sense then.

"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" he commanded, as he and the White Fang opened fire on the being. The bullets just seemed to soak into his body as if they were drops of rain. Darkness then flicked his wrist, and all the weapons evaporated into nothing.

" **In doing so, you forgot your place,"** he continued as he kept advancing **"You forgot what you were."** His body continued changing, as what looked like a tail came out of his back.

" **To that end, it falls upon me to remind you of your status."** He then fell to his knees, and purple smoke consumed him, before flaring up, and out of it loomed what could only be described as a vision of absolute horror for all those present.

In Darkness' place was a massive, Atlesian dragon. Its great wings were tattered, and its head seemed to be a skull. The dragon loomed over all those present, as dark fire leaked out of the corner of its mouth, before it leaned down towards Roman, he tried to move back, only to fall down. If she had a voice, Neo would've screamed as she also fell back. The White Fang at least still had the sound of mind to run. As for the teens, they weren't much better off than the others.

" **YOU ARE ALL….** _ **ANTS**_ **."** Those words, in Darkness' voice, seemed to come from the dragon. Even Jaune and Ruby, who had eventually gotten used to the god's presence were blown away by this. Something about seeing him in this form made it so much more apparent how vastly superior he was to all those others.

" **NOW,"** Darkness growled as he bent over, and stuck his head in Roman and Neo's face **, "CRAWL AWAY, ANTS."** Neo was the first to move, as she slowly crawled away, sobbing in fear. Roman slowly did the same, as he managed to rise to his feet. He then shakily picked Neo up, and stumbled back into the shadows. With the threat past, the draconic deity turned to look at the students, who all seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

" **WELL, I BELIVE SOME EXPLANATION MAY BE IN ORDER,"** Darkness said.

 _RYPJ Chibi: Dragon Slayer_

 _Ruby pursued her lips in concentration as she mashed the buttons on her video game. She was playing Ultra Dragon Slayer IV, where you hunted and slew dragons._

" _Come on! Come on!" she grumbled, "This is it…" Then all of a sudden, the game cut out._

" _NO!" Ruby cried as she lost all her progress. She turned to see Darkness holding up his hand._

" _ **Please do not play those games in my presence,"**_ _Darkness said._

" _What? Why?"_

" _ **I find them offensive."**_ _Ruby just blinked, but didn't protest, as she took out the game. Offending a god was probably not a wise idea._

" _So what should I play then?" she asked._

" _ **Perhaps this,"**_ _Darkness answered, holding up his hand. A new game floated into Ruby's hands._

" _Super Dragon Massacre II?"_ __ _she read, "This seems kind of…. grimm."_

" _ **I take offense to that as well."**_

 **Note: This is it, the greatest intervention Darkness has made yet. To quickly clarify, he didn't fully manifest. Its more like he expanded those who could see him from just Jaune and Ruby. And shifting into his true form at that. As I said some chapters ago, I like the idea that the Brothers' dragon forms are their true forms, and their humanoid forms are merely to interact with the mortals. This was planned from the beginning (I actually originally planned ON it happening to Cinder and her lackeys), but it went through some revisions obviously, and I think this is a good a point as any for Darkness to fully manifest before the heroes. Things will take off from here, so have some faith in me.**

 **So now Roman and Neo have seen Darkness, though they may not really fathom just what he is. As you can likely see, I'm omitting the Breach of Vale. Mostly to add some of my own take to the story, and give it my own twist.**

 **Now something that's not made clear is why the Grimm are drawn to negative emotions. I mean, they were made before humanity was, so why would they be drawn to human emotions. To that end, I'm approaching it in the sense that Salem tampered with the Grimm after she became one.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	23. The God's Chosen

_**The God's Chosen**_

" **THIS, HOWEVER, IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE PLACE TO DO IT."** Darkness then waved his claw. All of a sudden the group was all back on the surface with the draconic god. The form then turned to smoke, as he reverted back to his humanoid form. He stared at them for a while as an awkward situation became more awkward. Eventually, Darkness decided to be the one to break the silence.

" **For the record, yes, I can read your thoughts,"** the god said **, "But vocalizing your questions is preferable."** That only served to make the situation even more awkward, until Nora took the plunge with the first question.

"So… you're a dragon?" she slowly asked.

" **What you saw was my true form,"** Darkness explained **, "The form you see before you now is merely to communicate with mortals."**

"Wait, mortals?" Weiss asked, before her eyes widened in realization, "You're…"

" **Yes,"** Darkness said as he spread his hands **, "I am the God of Darkness, Destruction, and Choice. Together with my brother, it was I who forged the world around you, and your very being."** The group stared at him, as if they couldn't comprehend what was just told to them. Pyrrha then completely prostrated herself before Darkness. She then noticed none of her classmates doing the same.

"What're you doing?" she hissed, "He's a god! Show some respect."

" **That will not be necessary,"** Darkness said, holding up his hand before anyone else could bow. He then gestured for Pyrrha to rise. There was a period of silence, as the group seemed to wonder whether or not they should even say anything.

" **You have my permission to speak,"** Darkness said **, "Because apparently that needs to be said."**

"Sorry, we're not really used to being with a god," Yang said, "So… what're you doing here?"

"Is it Judgement Day?" Nora asked worriedly.

" **No, it is not,"** Darkness said **, "My brother would also be here if it were."**

"Your brother," Pyrrha murmured, "The God of Light."

"So…. why are you here?" Weiss asked.

" **You could perhaps ask them,"** Darkness said, gesturing towards Jaune and Ruby. All eyes were suddenly on the partners.

"Wait a minute!" Yang said, "You guys _knew_ about him?"

"I knew before Ruby did," Jaune admitted, "Darkness is here mostly because of me."

"And you never thought telling us might be necessary to share this with us?" Weiss demanded.

"How would you have put it?" Ruby defended, "This isn't a topic you can just drop into a chat."

" **Perhaps now would be an appropriate time for that so-called 'chat',"** Darkness commented. Jaune looked at Ruby, who nodded after a moment. And with that, they told them everything, when Darkness first appeared to Jaune, when he helped save Ruby, when he arrived as Doctor Shade, and everything else. Blake twisted on her feet as she took the information in. The only thing this could really tell her, was that her people's faith in the High Spirits was false. It was like the world had just been completely rewritten. And then was the (now former) atheist, Yang, as all her reason and rational had just evaporated in less than a hour; she felt like she was going to throw up.

" **I made a decision that I would reveal myself to you all when this expedition of our's,"** Darkness explained **, "Granted those interlopers required me to re-evaluate my plan."**

"What made you want to reveal yourself now?" Blake asked. Darkness was silent for a time, as he folded his arms behind his back.

" **Having observed you now for some time, it is apparent to me that you all have great potential. But potential is not sufficient; there is much of this world you do not know of, threats that could end you in an instant."**

"What're you getting at here?" Jaune asked. A few people looked at him in shock over the way he phrased that.

" **I am going to make you an offer,"** Darkness said **, "I will grant each and everyone of you the power to use magic."**

"What?" Ren asked, the first to speak of the group, as even RJ were chocked by those words.

" **I would grant each of you magic,"** the god confirmed **, "With that power, you can face the greater enemies in your world, while the lesser enemies will fall to you like wheat to a scythe."**

"What do you mean by 'greater enemies'?" Blake asked nervously. Darkness paused, as if considered his answer.

" **There are fouler, and more dangerous forces than the lesser beasts you have fought,"** he eventually answered **, "Forces none of you are ready to face."**

"And you think giving us magic would help us?" Weiss asked.

" **It is less a matter of 'thinking' and more a matter of 'knowing'."**

"If its a matter of ability, we can just keep training," Nora said, "We don't need any ghost's help."

" **First of all, I am not a ghost, I am a god,"** Darkness responded **, "Second, it is also not a matter of training, it is a matter of ability. You could train daily for years, and still not be ready."** There was a period of silence, as the teams exchanged looks.

"We can't accept it," Ruby finally said. Darkness seemed to arch a non-existent eyebrow at them.

"Its our responsibility, our purpose to face the threats that come," Ruby said, "If we can't do it on our own, then how could outside help do it? Whatever it is, we will be ready, with our own ability." The rest of the group, save Jaune, seemed to agree with that. Darkness cocked his head at them slightly. He then held up his hand, and snapped his fingers. A massive black arm, as big as one the buildings around them burst from the ground. Another soon followed, as a colossal Grimm with a human skull for a head pulled itself out of the ground, before screaming at the students who screamed right back. Before the Grimm could strike, though, Darkness waved his hand, as it vanished as soon as it appeared.

"What… the hell was that?" Yang panted, putting her arm on her chest to try and ease her racing heart.

" **That was only a taste of what you might encounter,"** he said bluntly **, "You are NOT ready."** Most of the group looked at the ground, the god's point proven.

"So, what're you going to do?" Jaune asked. Darkness held up his hand, as eight glowing orbs appeared floating over it. Two were red, one was yellow, one was white-gold, one was black, one was green, one was pure white, and one was pink, the corresponding colors of both RYPJ and BRWN.

" **Heed this warning,"** he then said **, "After this, I will no longer intervene any further. I will continue to advise you, and to teach you as Shade. But my divine power will no longer be at your ready disposal."** He then looked to Jaune and telepathically relayed _ **And the blessing I gave you will no longer be active**_. A shiver went down Jaune's spine at the mention of that; for the time, he tried not to think of the potential consequences.

" **Do you all understand the gravity of what you are being offered?"** Darkness then asked. It took some time, but the eight of them all gave their affirmations. Darkness nodded in return, as he flicked his free wrist, pushing them all back, spacing them all out, to their confusion.

" **So be it then,"** the god said **, "Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Lie Ren, Weiss Schnee, and Nora Valkyrie, I hereby name you my champions. Now accept this power."** He then held out his hand, as the eight orbs floated towards them. Each one entered their bodies. At first, nothing happened, save their Aura's glowing somewhat brighter.

"That's it?" Nora asked, "We just glow now?" She received no response form the god, who stood still in anticipation.

"I don't know," Ruby said, as she looked at her hands, "I'm feeling kind of funn…" Ruby let out a cry, as she doubled over.

"Ruby!" Yang called out, only to double over herself. Soon all the teens were keeling over in pain, as the power of the god seemed to overwhelm them. With a gasp, Pyrrha forced her eyes open, as her pupils turned to reptilian slits. The Aura's flared up like fire, completing consuming them, as the magic reshaped their entire bodies. The force of the magic kicked up the dust, as Darkness just watched his champions go through the transformation. Eventually, the dust cleared, and the teens' new forms were revealed in full.

Ruby was now a wyvern with dark red scales, with her neck, torso, and broad wings lined with bright red rose petals. On her wings' elbows, were three fingered claws tipped with claws like scythes. Her long tail was lined with what looked like thorns, and was tipped with a scythe like protrusion.

Yang had become a long, Mistrali style serpentine dragon, with yellow scales. Her long hair had become a glowing mane, with a line of hair running down her spine. Her front claws seemed to be cloaked in fire.

Pyrrha was now a giant, crimson snake with bronze wings, with bronze plating on her forehead, going down her spine. Her tail was tipped with what could almost be described as a bronze spear.

Jaune was an Atlesian dragon like Darkness' own form. The primary difference was his head was more pointed, and his scales were a brilliant gold. He had red webbing in his wings, and red fins on his spine and tail, and a frill of white gold framing his head.

Blake was a wyvern like Ruby, but with black scales, and panther-like fur covering parts of her body. Her mouth was almost beak like with sharp teeth. Her wings were lined with blade like bones, with cat claws on the wings, and her tail was long and barbed.

Ren was a Mistrali dragon like Yang, only his own scales were green, with a black mane around his head, and green feelers coming from his face. Going down the length of his spine was a magenta sail, ending in a fan-like protrusion at the tip of his tail. On his front claws, one claw was noticably larger than the others.

Weiss was elegant and pristine looking Atlesian dragon like Jaune, though she was slimmer, and her wings broader. She had glittering white scales with light blue, crystal-like spines coming out of her back. Coming form her head was a long strand of white hair like her ponytail.

Lastly, Nora was a heavyset, lizard-like dragon, with large set of wings and a large head. Her scales were a dark magenta with orange webbing and horns. She had a long, thick tail that had a club-like end that seemed to crackle with electricity.

" **Well, I would say that was a success,"** Darkness commented, looking at his handiwork, as the eight dragons loomed in-front of him.

 _RYPJ Chibi: (sorry, no RYPJ chibi this chapter)_

 **Note: A shorter chapter, and I can already see your fingers going to the keyboard about how they're all OP now. But hear me out. It should go without saying that there are limits on this power. Think of it as like the Branwens ability to turn into birds, only a much greater level (the students are getting it straight from the source). Also, they can't use any other magic, and their only abilities are flight, enhanced strength, and a corresponding breath weapon. There size is also not as great as Darkness'; Ruby is the smallest, about the size of a rhino, while Jaune's is the biggest, about the size of an elephant. Might allow them curb stomp some kinds of Grimm, some human opponents, and hold their own against some larger ones. Against the greatest of Grimm, and other threats that may lurk in Remnant? Jury is still out on that. And what're those threats? You'll have to wait and see. I pondered if it would be out of character for the characters to refuse Darkness' offer to give him magic, but I figured anyone would be distrustful of an offer from a purple giant without a face that was just a dragon.**

 **I can imagine what Yang is feeling. I'll admit if any deity suddenly appeared right before me, it would probably make a believer out of me. Or to put ourselves in Blake's shoes, imagine believing in one religion, and then all of a sudden, a deity from a different religion appears before you.**

 **I'll rundown the basis for my designs for RYPJ and BRWN's dragon forms. I wanted all of them to fit their themes and images; Ruby's wyvern design was based broadly on feathered dinosaurs, particularly raptors, however the feathers replaced with rose petals, and without any petals on her tail. Yang's was simple (her name means "Little Sunny Dragon"), and I based the design on the dragon form of the God of Light, albeit without the antlers, feelers, or beard, and added her long hair. Pyrrha's was broadly based on Greek interpretations of dragons; for those who don't know "dragon" is derived from the word "drakon", which actually means, roughly, "great serpent', and when you look at Greek depictions of dragons, they are often essentially just giant snakes. Jaune's was based on Vilentretenmerth from the Netflix** _ **Witcher**_ **series, albeit with a white gold lizard frill around his head, and with an additional set of legs.**

 **Blake's design was based on the Nargacuga from the** _ **Monster Hunter**_ **games, mostly due to my desire to focus on Blake's stealth theme, while incorporating aspects of cats (particularly panthers). Ren was simply an Asian dragon, albeit with smaller horns and feelers than the God of Light. Weiss' design had to be elegant, so I took notes from European dragons, though with more serpentine features, big wings, and incorporating some of her hair. Lastly, Nora's was an attempt to stick with Norse appearance of dragons, so I drew a lot from** _ **God of War**_ **'s dragons, being heavyset and powerful.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	24. Back to Beacon

_**Back to Beacon**_

Darkness looked on in satisfaction at his handiwork. The enchantment has worked like a proverbial charm. For the students turned dragons, however…

With a series of roars, screeches, and hisses, they all started stumbling over the bodies they were not at all used to. With their center of gravity almost inverted. Yang and Ren started floating, and were left to desperately grab at the ground beneath them in an attempt to remain steady. Weiss let out a shriek, as she tripped over her wings, crashing into Jaune in the process. Ruby, eventually, on instinct, beat her wings, getting some lift. Though seeing as she didn't actually know how to fly….

Ruby, in her imbalance, slammed into a building, letting out a cry of pain. Jaune and Weiss were still tangled over each other, as they inadvertently clawed over each other, hissing and roaring. For her own, Yang had lost her grip on the ground, and was now aimlessly flailing through the air; Ren was in a similar situation, though he still managed to cling to the ground with one claw.

But the who was having the worst time was Pyrrha. Suddenly devoid of legs, the girl turned snake was left to flail on the ground, virtually immobile while hissing. She let out a roar, as bright red fire burst from her mouth, destroying a nearby structure. As he watched them, Darkness shook his head, as he clenched his fists, getting frustrated with them.

" **Control it!"** Darkness shouted, one of the few instances where he actually raised his voice. However none of the dragons either or paying attention, or seemed to be able to hear him.

" **Control it, you fools!"** Unfortunately, his words remained unheeded as the dragons "flew" and "ran" aimlessly while screaming. Darkness then grunted, before thrusting his hand out. In a multicolored flash, all the students instantly reverted to their human forms, and collapsed to the ground.

"What did you do to us?!" Weiss demanded as she shakily leaned up.

"Why'd you take my legs!" Pyrrha cried out. Darkness just floated over to them.

" **I gave you the power I promised,"** the god said **, "I anticipated you having difficulty controlling it, but I thought you would have greater control than that."**

"We thought you'd give us the power to shoot magic blasts from our hands or something!" Ruby said, "And I wanted to fly!"

" **You will be able to fly."**

"But not like that!" Ruby whined flailing her arms. Though he didn't seem to have eyes, they could've sworn he was rolling them.

"Get rid of this!" Blake said, "We can't deal with power like this!"

" **That is not an option at this point. There are no two ways about this. You have this power, and you must learn how to use it."**

"How?" Pyrrha asked.

" **I will train and instruct you on how to utilize these forms, including how to fly,"** Darkness said **, "It will definitely take time, but I do not doubt you will be able to master them eventually."**

" **You will be able to control this power, that much is certain"** Darkness said **, "As for how long it will take for that? That much will be up to you."** The group exchanged looks, apparently unsure how to respond.

" **In the mean time, though, we shall start with learning how to walk. Because apparently that's a necessity."** He then held up his hand, and fortunately the group was prepared for it this time, though only Ruby, Jaune, Blake, Weiss, and Nora became dragons.

"You aren't going to turn us?" Pyrrha asked.

" **You have no legs, and the other two will likely barely find themselves walking,"** Darkness said **, "It will be another time."** Ren and the girls looked at each other, but didn't bother protesting with their god.

Darkness then turned his attention to the dragons, who again were stumbling over their own feet. With a sigh, Darkness slipped into his own dragon form.

" **THERE IS NOTHING AT ALL COMPLICATED OF WALKING WITH FOUR LEGS,"** he said.

" _Easy for you to say!"_ Jaune "said". The other dragons suddenly looked at him.

" _Wait,"_ Blake "said" _, "How did I hear that?"_

" _I heard that!"_ Nora responded.

" _And I heard_ that _,"_ Weiss said _, "What's going on?"_

" _This has always been how Ruby and I would talk with Darkness,"_ Jaune explained.

" _Well, I guess that's how we talk to each other,"_ Ruby said. There was a period of silence, as the dragons processed that kind of information.

" _This will take some getting used to,"_ Weiss said, with a sigh (which in dragon form came out like a hiss).

" **NOW, LISTEN CAREFULLY,"** Darkness said **, "LIFT YOUR FRONT RIGHT LIMB."** He demonstrated lifting his foot. After a moment, the group did as they were told.

" **PUT IT DOWN IN FRONT OF YOU,"** the god continued. They did just that as Darkness started them walking them through the basics of walking (Yang would've laughed at that pun if she were in a better mood). Speaking of which, she, Ren, and Pyrrha were left to awkwardly watch them, left to wonder how they were supposed to move. Darkness had said that Yang and Ren wouldn't actually be doing much walking, but they weren't sure how they were supposed to be able move then. Yang remembered that when she was turned into a dragon, she was floating, and had to actively hold, in order to remain grounded. Were they just supposed to fly everywhere? And Pyrrha of course had _no_ legs in her dragon form; how was she supposed to learn how to move?

In regards to the five dragons, they were making slow, but ample progress. It took a little while, but eventually, the five were able to walk freely, if not somewhat uneasily, on all fours.

" _Look at us!"_ Nora said, as she walked forward _, "We're doing it!"_ Her friends weren't as enthused by the process, but they were at least satisfied to be making process.

" _So, when do we learn to fly?"_ Nora then asked _, "And when can we start breathing fire?"_

" **IN DUE TIME, CHILD,"** Darkness answered, before he shifted back into his humanoid form **, "We will continue these training sessions from here on out, as I see necessary."** He snapped his fingers, as the dragons all turned back to normal.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Weiss said, looking at her hands.

" **It should go without saying that it is absolutely imperative that you control yourselves in these forms,"** Darkness said **, "I should not have to say what will happen if you lose control. Is that clear?"** No one said anything.

" **Very good,"** the god said **, "With that, we shall return to Beacon."** After a pause, the group started heading back to where the Bullhead was supposed to be. They got only a few feet, before they were suddenly back behind the Beacon dorm complex. While Jaune and Ruby had come to expect, it caused Weiss to lose her balance as she fell to her knees.

"What's wrong with just normal travel?" she asked.

" **It is not as quick or efficient,"** Darkness said as he appeared before them **, "Now rest. I have things that need attending to."** He then vanished.

"Where'd he go?" Ren asked.

"He does that a lot, and I try not to think about that when he's gone," Jaune answered, as he and Ruby started making their way back to their rooms. Everyone stared at them in surprise.

"What?"

"'What'?" Weiss asked, "How can you act so…. casual about all this? We in the presence of our creator, of our god, and that's all you have to say?" Ruby and Jaune looked at each other for a time.

"What do you want us to say?" Jaune asked, "That you'll eventually just get used to having him around?"

"Did you?" Blake asked. Jaune and Ruby looked at each other for a second.

"Sorta, kinda, not really," Ruby eventually admitted, "We try, but its not easy."

"So what're we supposed to do?" Nora asked, spreading her arms in exasperation.

"We don't know," Jaune answered, "We just don't." The remainder of RYPJ and BRWN stared at each other and the ground, all with downcast looks. These were looks Ruby couldn't bare to see on her fiends like this.

"Look, I don't really know why he's here, but he gave us these powers," she said, as she looked at her hands, "Darkness gave them to us because he trusts us. Because he thinks we can do good with them. And if our creator has these kinds of expectations of us, don't we have a duty to meet them?"

"Leave it to my sister to give a speech like that," Yang said with a slight chuckle.

"Why don't we start by heading back to the dorms," Jaune suggested, jerking his thumb. The group could at least agree on that.

 **(in Vale)**

Roman silently spun his unlit cigar through his fingers, as he stared at the ceiling of the warehouse he and Neo were hiding out in. The girl in pink was facing the wall, still trembling slightly. Despite their best efforts, neither of them could make any sense of what they had seen. It had to be illusion, and yet it had seemed so… No, they couldn't think like that, it couldn't be real. Roman didn't even care that the plan had failed. What he saw made everything seem vastly less important.

"Ah, dear Mr. Torchwick," a familiar voice said. In the past, Roman would've flinch at it, but not this time.

"We had a plan, didn't we?" Cinder said as she and her lackeys entered. Roman didn't even look at her.

"Hey!" Emerald shouted, "She's talking to you!"

"I heard her," Roman answered, but still didn't look at her. Despite herself, Cinder was more intrigued than irritated. Roman knew who she was, and what she could do. There had to be reason.

"So, why the hell didn't the plan work?" Mercury demanded.

"Something… got in the way," Roman answered.

"'Something'?" Emerald echoed, "How helpful."

"'Care to elaborate?" Cinder inquired.

"It was… I'm not sure how to describe it," Roman said as he lowered his cigar and sat up, "At first it looked like a Faunus, only twice as tall as any of us, and literally glowing with power. Then… he changed…." Roman trailed off. He then shook his head slightly to clear it.

"Look, I really don't know what the hell I saw," he said, "All I know is that none of you wouldn't last a millisecond against it." Cinder cocked her head, as her eyes started glowing.

"Would you like to test that?" she asked. Roman just looked at her.

"It doesn't matter," he said, "Consider our partnership over. Things are getting too… extreme for us." He then turned to leave, only for a bullet to soar past his ear.

"You know it doesn't work like that," Emerald said, glaring at him. Roman looked at her, narrowing his eyes.

"After I what I saw, nothing you can do can scare me now," he said, before calling his partner, "Let's go." Neo looked up with traces of tears in her eyes. Emerald didn't know the girl very well, but she had to wonder what could cause her to look so… traumatized. Roman just put his hand on her shoulder, and lead her to the nearby Bullhead.

"Should we…," Mercury asked, as he flexed his legs, and Emerald held up her weapons. Their leader cocked her head, narrowing her eyes, as if considering it, before she seemed to make her decision.

"No, he's not worth the effort or the ammunition," Cinder said, "He'll get his due soon enough."

"And that thing he said he saw?" Emerald asked.

"I don't know, and for the time we can't concern ourselves about it," Cinder said, "We have to stay on task. At any rate…" She then held up a finger, which ignited

"I don't think we'll have anything to worry about," she said with a smirk.

 **Note: Oh my dear Cinder, you have no idea.**

 _RYPJ Chibi_ _:_

 _Blake fiddled through her books, looking for something. Apparently not finding it, she frowned._

" _Dang it," she grumbled, "Where is it?" As she said that, Nora came up behind her._

" _Heyya Blake," she said with a grin, "What up?"_

" _I'm trying to find one of my books," Blake answered, "But its not around."_

" _You mean the smut book?" Nora asked innocently. Blake's breath hitched at that._

" _I…"_

" _Come on sister," Nora said, "We're the same age. Now if it were Ruby asking…"_

" _So, have you seen it?" Blake asked._

" _Yeah," Nora said, "Our resident god was reading it." Blake's breath hitches again upon hearing that. That was probably not a good thing._

" _Well, if you want it back, you can just go ask him," Nora said._

" _You sure that's a good idea?"_

" _Ah come on," Nora said, "I'm sure he'll be generous and giving like gods are. I saw him in RYPJ's room. I'll go ask for you." She then walked across the hall._

" _Nora, wait!" Blake wasn't sure why she really bothered considering how the orange-haired girl never listened. After maybe two minutes later she returned, only with a bird's head._

" _I tried to warn you," Blake said._

" _He said it'll reverse in about an hour," Nora squawked, "I'll try again then."_

" _You sure that's a good idea?" Blake asked._

" _Its the only way to deal with guys like that!" Nora squared again. Blake could only sigh at Weiss' partner._

 **Note: Some people seemed to have preferred that they get to use magic a'la what what Ozma or the Maidens can do. But we already have that in the Maidens; this way it gives the characters a new set of abilities that can provide for some good fight scenes and personal issues. And I'll freely admit, I'm not a fan of the kind of magic that consists of throwing colored energy blasts at people; to me, that's just boring. Though I'm sure not going to spell it out how its going to affect them personally for anyone. And no, this is not the kind of power up people are making it up to be.**

 **And if you simply don't like the way its going? Sorry?**

 **At any rate, this marks the end of Vol. 2, moving into Vol. 3. Things will progress into the tournament arc soon, but not immediately. Bare in mind, I doubt either Roman or Neo would recognize what they saw as the God of Darkness, nor would Cinder.**

 **To give you an update on the poll, Ruby remains in the lead, with Pyrrha in second and Cinder in third. Yang has fallen from number 2 to number 5.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **By the way, to the reviewer who released six reviews saying the same thing complaining about Yang's atheism. As my commander says "it is what it is".**


	25. Let the Tournament Begin!

_**Let the Tournament Begin!**_

"I got this! I got this!" Ruby declared. She used her Semblance to swoop through the trees towards her enemies, only for her opponent to easily sidestep her. She then smacked Ruby with her bo staff, sending the red-head stumbling away. The Vytal Festival had started in earnest, and RYPJ was matched up against Team FLRE from Haven Academy in a forest environment. And they were doing…. so so.

Their opponents consisted of the following: Fiona Dötter, a tall young woman with long white-gold hair wearing what could only really be described as a white suit (when Weiss brought up the impracticability of such an outfit, the combat skirt "argument' reared its ugly head again), Lilac Verminus, a shorter woman with light purple hair wearing a form fitting set of battle armor of a similar color, Rowan Trace, the only male on the team and a short young man with light red hair, and Ebony Taa (the one Ruby was fighting), a girl with dark skin and pitch black hair. Needless to say, they were all ample fighters.

"I guess I don't got this," the girl in red said sheepishly.

"You know, its kinda hard to miss the big stream of roses," Ebony said with a smirk. Ruby just scowled, as she swung her scythe, which Ebony was able to evade without issue.

Meanwhile Jaune let out a (rather unmanly) squeal as he dodged a strike from Lilac's great sword, before having to bring up his shield to block a kick. He had learned that when revoking his blessing, Darkness had also taken away the magic that enhanced Crocea Mars. That was probably for the better, since it didn't put his opponents in extreme danger, but it also made the fighting somewhat harder ("somewhat" being an admitted understatement).

Yang and Pyrrha were fighting Fiona and Rowan respectively, probably doing the best out of the four. During this, Darkness idly rubbed his fingers together as he watched RYPJ clash with their first opponents with only partial interest, floating over the stadium. It was not as if he didn't want them to win, its just he knew they would. Though he couldn't see the future, Darkness was rarely wrong about these sorts of things.

For what it was worth, RYPJ was doing fairly well; more and more Darkness was noticing their respective strengths, abilities, and techniques they had as fighters. Ruby was certainly the quick on her feet sniper that preferred fast, decisive strikes to prolonged battles; Yang was the opposite, being an all out brawler that preferred long drawn out battles (her Semblance favored that tactic); Pyrrha was certainly the most skilled out the four, understanding how to duel, dodge, and all that. That of course left Jaune; he was not the fighter his teammates were, that was obvious, but he had the tactical mind, and that was invaluable.

Using her Semblance, Pyrrha managed to repel the armored Rowan away. He fired his twin pistols (which would turn into tonfas) at her, though Pyrrha managed to block with her shield. Rowan switched his pistols to its tonfa state, and leapt at her. This Pyrrha managed to easily evade.

"Arkos!" she called. Hearing that, Jaune managed to leap to his feet, and after dodging another strike from Lilac, made his way to Pyrrha. Activating her Semblance again, Pyrrha yanked Jaune her way through his armor. Jaune held up his shield, and, catching Rowan off guard, slammed into him through his shield. This stunned him, allowing Pyrrha to then switched her sword into its rifle mode, and fire a Dust bullet, knocking him away.

Meanwhile, Ruby's strategy against Ebony had essentially devolved into the girl in red desperately trying to avoid the attacks. Eventually, as she was jetting away, she lost her bearings, and slammed into a tree. As she groaned, she noticed Darkness standing over her.

" **You must do more than just dodge,"** he commented. Ruby groaned again, as she got to her feet.

 _I guess I can't use my dragon power here?_ she asked.

" **You would kill them if you did,"** Darkness answered **, "You are running low an Aura, I recommend finding a new strategy to deal with them."**

 _Thank you, Captain Obvious_ Ruby grumbled.

" **If I could offer some advice, perhaps you are approaching the fight the wrong way,"** Darkness offered. He didn't add anything to that, leading Ruby, once again, with more questions than answers. Of course she was a good markswoman and such rather than a brawler like Yang…. she then suddenly got an idea. Taking aim with Crescent Rose in its sniper form, she fired a bullet right past Ebony's head, causing her to involuntarily move away.

"You should work on your…." The girl couldn't finish, as Ruby exited her Semblance, using the velocity to kick Ebony in the head. Her aim was true, and her opponent fell like a bag of cement. Ruby allowed herself to take a breath.

That only left Fiona and Lilac of FLRE. Jaune was still being chased by Lilac with little luck, while Yang was dueling Fiona. As she dodged her attack, Yang fired her left gauntlet, which Fiona easily blocked, though Yang quickly was on top of her, causing her to jump back.

"Heh!" Yang mocked, "You fight like a boy!" Fiona glared at her, trying desperately to think of her own taunt.

"At… at least my hair's real!" she eventually countered. The air in the arena suddenly turned very still, as Yang stared straight at her opponent.

"Say what?" she asked.

"I mean seriously, anyone can tell that's a wig from a mile away," Fiona continued. Yang was silent, but began to shake slightly as her teammates took instructive steps back.

"Oh, you don't know what you just did," Ruby said nervously. There was explosion of yellow Aura, as Yang's eyes turned red. The Aura seemed to take a distinctive dragon shape, as the blonde sprung at Freya. The girl didn't even have time to react as Yang struck her with a fully charged blast, knocking her out with one strike.

"Anyone else!" Yang demanded, holding up her fist, as the crowd (or at least the parts from Vale) cheered. Needless to say, that left Lilac rather… discouraged to continue, as he threw in the towel. Yang panted, as she rubbed her forehead.

"Yang…," Ruby said slowly, pointing. Yang looked at her arms, noticing the traces of yellow scales. She then glanced up, to see Darkness floating over her, looking very pointedly at her. She took a deep breath, as the scales seemed to fade away.

 **(in the fairgrounds)**

"Ugh!" Ruby groaned, "Why aren't we eating yet?"

"We just got to the fairgrounds," Yang said, shoving her sister slightly, "Let's find a stand first."

"Anyone else in the mood for Mistrali noodles?" Jaune asked. As they were walking, Pyrrha had her nose nestled in a book about snakes. They had just finished watching BRWN's own fight, and were all looking to get some lunch.

In the few weeks since Darkness revealed himself to all of them, it wasn't like they had really gotten used to him, but they were making… progress (right?). Darkness had not really been doing the training he had told them about, rather he would generally depart for most of the day besides the classes he taught as Dr. Shade. Nobody was really sure where he went, since he didn't tell anybody anything, and prying a god for answers probably wasn't the wisest thing to do…. On occasion, he would pop up to offer nuggets of wisdom, but that was about it.

"Hello, Team RYPJ!" Nora greeted, waving her hand.

"Hey BRWN!" Ruby answered.

"Good job in your guys' fight," Blake complimented.

"Back at ya," Yang answered.

"No thanks to me," Jaune grumbled.

"Don't beat yourself up," Ruby said to her partner, "You did your best."

"Which is to say, pretty bad."

"Stop talking like that," Pyrrha said, looking up from her book, "You won't get any better talking like that." Juan just kept his eyes on the ground.

"I can't await until we can use our dragon powers in fights," Nora said, slamming her fist into her palm. It went without saying that she was the most enthusiastic about the whole prospect (not that she didn't need some adjusting herself, of course). Yang actually remained silent on that, not wanting to advertise the issues she had in the last fight.

"Easy for you to say," Pyrrha said, finally looking up, "You get to keep your legs."

"At least you're on the ground," Yang said, "Ren and I have to float everywhere." Weiss rubbed her forehead as she considered the conversation.

"This is the stuff we're dealing with these days," she said, rolling her eyes slightly, "Oh ye gods."

" **Yes?"** Darkness responded as he appeared behind them. While Jaune and Ruby were since used to it, it caused the rest of their friends to leap into the air slightly.

 _Will you stop doing that?_ Yang asked.

" **No."**

 _How'd I know you were going to say that?_

" **Consider me impressed,"** Darkness said to the assembled group **, "You both did quite well in your respective matches. Your skills continue to advance"**

 _Thanks_ Pyrrha said, with a smile. That was high praise coming from a god, and she was very glad to have it.

" **Which is why we will be training today,"** Darkness said.

 _Say what?_ Yang said, "speaking" for everybody.

" **You heard me."**

 _But the tournament is still going on_ Blake said.

" **What of it? You finished your matches."**

 _I wanna watch the fights!_ Ruby protested.

" **I am the immortal creator, you are the mortals,"** the god answered **, "My judgement and plans trump your's."** He flicked his wrist before anyone could protest, bringing them back to Mt. Glenn.

"I hate it when you do that," Weiss said, not bothering to question it anymore. The group, knowing what Darkness meant by "training" all stood apart from each other, so they didn't bump into each other after transforming and mentally prepared themselves. Pyrrha in particularly prepared to no longer have legs. But Darkness didn't do anything.

"Are you going to change us?" Nora asked.

" **No,"** Darkness answered, folding his arms **, "You will be transforming yourselves."**

"How do we do that?"Ren asked.

" **I suspect it will be different for each of you. You will have to find your own way of transforming."**

"How?" Jaune asked.

" **Again, you will have to figure out your own way,"** Darkness answered. He then sat back on thin air, apparently waiting for them. They stood still, confused about what they were supposed to be doing.

" **You know, immortality makes me** very **patient,"** the god said, as he created a Taijitu that slithered through his fingers **, "And we will not be leaving until each one of you has transformed."** Getting the point, the group considered what they were doing, and all concentrated.

"I'm a dragon! I'm a dragon!" Nora chanted to herself, as she flapped her arms slightly, to no avail.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Jaune asked, as he looked at his hands.

"I've got nothing," Yang said with a shrug.

"Can't you give us any hints?" Nora asked the god.

" **No."**

"…. please?"

" **No."**

"… please?"

" **No."**

"…."

" **Ask again, and I will remove your mouth,"** Darkness said, looking towards Nora. That made her shut up.

"I'll take any idea sat this point," Weiss said, "Anything at all." Before anyone could say anything, their attention was taken by the soft sound of hissing and a red glow. They turned to see that Ruby had turned into her dragon form.

"How'd you do that?" Yang demanded.

 _I… I don't know_ Ruby answered, as she looked at her swishing tailI _I tried focusing on being a dragon, but that didn't work. So I thought about how much I wanted to succeed in doing this. And it just… happened._ Deciding to take that advice, Jaune did the same thing, and managed to transform himself as well. Slowly, the whole group managed to transform. Yang and Ren both let out distressed roars as they had to cling to the ground.

" **You five practice walking,"** Darkness said, as he stood up **, "Ms. Xiao Long, Mr. Ren, think of yourself as swimming. Ms. Nikos, practice slithering."** Yang and Ren, honestly never thinking about that, took that approach. Yang was the first to let go of the ground, as she started slowly floating through the air, with Ren not far behind. Soon, they were both slowly gliding through the air.

 _Hey!_ Yang said _Look at us, we're flying!_ She tried to smile in her dragon form, only to look somewhat ghoulish.

 _Please don't do that_ Weiss said, making a face (which honestly wasn't much better). Meanwhile, Pyrrha had managed to lean up on her serpentine body.

 _Alright_ she thought _Just concentrate._ She then slowly started inching forward, trying to use the information she memorized from the book. Soon, she was slowly slithering.

 _Huh_ Pyrrha mused _Not bad._ Darkness looked over his champions. They were making progress, and he supposed that was the best he could hope for at the time. After letting them practice for sometime, he summoned them back to the town center. But when they moved to shift into their human forms, Darkness stopped them.

" **You must become fully adjusted to this form,"** he said **, "Maintain it for the time."** Not ones to protest, the group sat down. Though as they were, Blake's tail knocked down a light post, while Jaune coughed, exhaling some golden fire.

" **My point exactly,"** Darkness said **, "But now that I have your attention. I wish to discuss your fights."**

 _What about them?_ Pyrrha asked as she tried to coil up with little success.

" **You all did otherwise well, but your tactics remain inefficient."**

 _How so?_ Weiss said, as she tried to flex her wings, only to get them swatted away by Nora.

" **There are many points where you could have inflicted final blows, which you failed to take."**

 _We're not trying to kill them_ Jaune said, as his tail lashed out.

" **My point stands, nonetheless. You will not become truly proficient fighters until you are able to battle efficiently. And on a similar note, Team BRWN."**

 _What about us?_ Blake asked.

" **Your teamwork remains lacking,"** Darkness explained.

 _We were able to work together_ Ren said.

" **Working together is not the same thing as working in tandem. Compare your fights with Team RYPJ; they have a distinct series of tactics and coordinated attacks that all them to work in clear cooperation with each other. Something I have not seen your team do."**

 _We're trying_ Nora insisted as she leaned up. Electricity crackled along her spine as she did, giving Weiss a slight shock. She let out a hiss, as she puffed out a cloud of ice.

" **Calm yourself, all of you,"** Darkness said **, "It should go without saying that you must control yourselves in this form. If you fail…."** He left it at there, the message received. Yang in particular shifted her coils.

" **That is enough for one day,"** the god said **, "You must rest for your next fight."**

 _Are we flying back?_ Ruby asked.

" **You are not ready for that,"** Darkness said, as he snapped his fingers, turning them all back to normal. Ruby and Nora both sighed in disappointed. Weiss rolled her shoulders slightly. The transformation both ways, the complete reconstruction of her body was… never pleasant.

 _RYPJ Chibi: Fun with Puns_ **(Eh? Eh?)**

 _Yang whistled to herself as she strolled down the hall. She then heard coughing coming from BRWN's dorms, and her curiosity getting the better of her, the blonde peaked in to see Blake on her bed, the coughing coming from her._

" _Hey Blake!" she greeted, "Not feeling well." Blake shook her head._

" _Got a cold our something?" Blake nodded._

" _Got a problem talking or something?" Yang asked, cocking her head._

" _I think I…. (cough) lost my voice," Blake said hoarsely. Upon hearing that, Yang frowned, before her mind inevitably slipped in its natural direction, and an idea came to her._

" _Cat got your tongue?" she asked, smiling. The air turned as thick as molasses as Blake stared straight at her, like she just turned into her dragon form. Even Yang seemed to understand just how she had gone in that one._

" _Can I try that again?" Yang asked._

" _No," Blake said, her voice somehow much clearer, "You need to sit with what you said."_ __ _Getting the idea, Yang hung her head, and walked out of the room. Darkness suddenly appeared over her. Only through divine punishment could Yang fully atone…._

 **Note: I'm only the one who finds it a tad strange that Pyrrha's from the Asia-themed Mistral, and yet is themed around ancient Greece? That's why I'm inclined to say that she grew up in Argus instead of Mistral (as in the city, not the country), since Argus seems to have a distinct culture. By the way, why are these places called "kingdoms" if none of them have monarchies any more?**

 **I did my best with doing a starting fight. Originally I had just planned on having Darkness commenting on their progress, but that was boring, and I knew it probably wouldn't fly. That said, I'm not going to show fights I don't think are necessary. And at any rate, I'll be frank, I didn't like Vol. 3; mostly because with a few exceptions, I'm not a fan of tournament storylines. Also, this story allows me the least real deviations to get to where I want this fanfic to go.**

 **Anyone else see the Vol. 7 trailer though? I'm liking the new designs, though I'm suspecting that JNR will start losing what little remaining significance it has left.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Side note, I'm sure you've noticed my tendency to list the team members in the order they are in their team titles. Such as Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, Jaune. I promise that's just a habit.**


	26. Force in the Forest

_**Force in the Forest**_

Weiss remembered a small chapel devoted to the Two Brothers in the Schnee Manor. It was never used, though occasionally Weiss would go there, mostly because her father would never go there. She never paid attention to anything that was within it. Now of course she wouldn't dare to hide in the chapel of the god that she was now the champion of, or who was currently walking beside her.

"Do you have to come?" she asked.

"I am intrigued to meet your sister," Shade answered, as he rubbed his fingers together, "It shall give my greater perspective about you. Beyond gazing into your personal history, of course." Weiss tried very hard to not consider the possibility of the God of Darkness studying her past like she was some kind of book. She had just gotten word that Winter had arrived in Beacon with a small contingent of Knights. She didn't know what she was doing here, but was happy to see her older sister nonetheless.

"You know… Winter's agnostic," Weiss said, "Will that… be an issue?"

"If you are thinking that I need mortal belief so as to validate myself, you are incorrect," Shade responded. As he said that, Weiss noticed his horns literally fade away.

"What happened to your horns?" she asked.

"I imagine introducing myself to your sister as a Faunus would make a poor first impression," Shade answered.

"My sister isn't prejudiced," Weiss said, stopping as she looked at him, feeling rather insulted.

"You would say the same thing about yourself before meeting Ms. Belladonna," Shade said plainly. Weiss found it surprisingly hard to disagree. She certainly though herself unprejudiced, but interacting with Blake caused her to rethink that perspective. Sadly, Shade may have been onto something. Trying not to think about that, she kept walking towards the docking area. As she did, she noticed an Atlesian airship landing, and start to open. Suddenly feeling a lot more excited, Weiss dashed forward.

As she did, a tall woman with white hair tied into a bun, and a white uniform descended the ramp down to the deck, followed by four Knights in perfect lockstep. Weiss hurried up, smiling broadly.

"Winter!" she called, before quickly remembering herself, and curtsying, "I mean…. greetings Elder Sister." Winter scanned the area, as if evaluating its threat level. The steel in her gaze reminded Shade of the some of the lords and ladies that would exist in his time.

"So… Beacon Academy," Winter mused, before looking at Weiss, "Somewhat lacking, all things considered. Though I suppose that's to be expected from Vale."

"Yes," Weiss said, "It is strange how the military is separate from everything else." Talking with Winter could be something of a effort; you had to chip away at her military bearing before actually getting to the real talk.

"So this is Winter Schnee," Shade mused as he caught up to Weiss. Upon seeing him, the heiress took a breath. _Here goes nothing._

"Winter, this is Dr. Shade, he's a personal tutor for my team and myself," Weiss introduced.

"A pleasure, Ms. Schnee," Shade said with a nod.

" _Specialist_ Schnee," Winter corrected.

"A distinction that is not of any meaning to me," Shade said plainly. Weiss allowed herself to balk at Shade, while Winter just narrowed her eyes at him.

"Weiss said you were a tutor of her's?" she asked, her voice so steely you could make a Paladin out of it.

"She did say that," Shade answered, "I fail to see why you felt the need to repeat it." The specialist took a breath, swallowing her irritation.

"So, what made you take such a vested interest in my sister?" she inquired.

"He told me teaching a Schnee would be a point of personal pride," Weiss said quickly, before Shade could say anything.

" **You would presume to speak for me?"**

 _Did you have a better idea?_

" **I am an all powerful deity. What would you expect?"** Weiss made the calculated risk of ignoring the god, as she turned back to Winter.

"So, what brings you to Beacon?" Weiss asked before that subject could continue.

"Classified."

"What're you doing in Vale?"

"Classified."

"Your official reason is to overlook the security in festival," Shade suddenly said, attracting the attention of both Schnees, "Your actual reason is a desire to see your sister. It is that simple." Despite herself, Weiss could've sworn Winter's eye twitched.

"If I may, sister," Winter said, "I would like to inspect your dorm to make sure it is up to code."

"Oh yes, if I may, allow me to show you," Weiss said, "Please don't mind the mess. My partner's somewhat… eccentric."

"Eccentric?" Winter echoed, arching an eyebrow.

"Again, it was a pleasure, _Ms._ Schnee," Shade said. Winter took a breath to calm herself as she walked with her sister. As they kept walking, Weiss looked over her shoulder at her teacher, as he suddenly vanished. Weiss tried not to sigh out loud at her god's… antics? Was that the right word?

As the Schnees walked on, Darkness materialized atop the structure that framed Beacon's courtyard, as he watched the two walk down. His attention was then taken to another approaching person, this one a man with a tattered red cloak, with dark, messy hair. As he watched him approach, Darkness had a suspicion that he and Winter would come to blows. Once again, he was quite correct.

As Darkness watched the two duel, he would overhear Ruby squeal about how the man was her Uncle Qrow. Knowing that, he was able to notice the clear similarities that their fighting styles and with Weiss and Ruby. Of course both of them were considerably more skilled than the latter two.

Something that Darkness took note of, though, was how they were incorporating with their Semblance. But as he was considering that, Darkness then noticed a strange aspect to Qrow's Aura. It did not take long for him to realize that Qrow could utilize magic, though as far as the god could tell, he wasn't using it. That made Darkness briefly ponder the origin, but figured that it wasn't something to dwell on for the time.

Eventually the battle came to an abrupt close when Ironwood halted his subordinate. He had to admit, Darkness was somewhat disappointed by that; the battle had been quite entertaining. But as the mortal saying went: "no sense crying over spilled milk" (though he did notice Nora doing exactly that, with Ruby doing the same when it came to cookies). So with that in mind, he decided to do some further investigations, as he vanished from the courtyard.

 **(in the forest)**

Darkness reformed in the forest. This is generally where he went when he disappeared from his students' gaze, so that he could further investigate the presences he had sensed earlier. For the most part, he hadn't found the answers he had sought, but he knew he had to continue trying.

Folding his arms beyond his back, he slowly walked through the trees. Some of his creations that were around seemed to somehow sense his presence, as they prostrated themselves before him. As Darkness was walking, he suddenly stopped, as he looked into space. The same presence he sensed in the ruins had reappeared.

Looking around, Darkness could see nothing. He then folded his hands, and willed his mind into a higher state, one that could look over the entirety of the forest. He could see everything from a Deathstalker strolling through the trees, to a squirrel jumping threw the trees, to a butterfly fluttering to a nearby flower. But still… no sign of the force he sensed. Until he saw a flicker in the trees.

Willing himself back into his mind, Darkness materialized in the spot where he saw the form. But he still saw nothing. Whatever was there seemed to be gone. The god ran a list of potential identities the force could be, it was not a long list. Much to the contrary, the list was practically non-existent. While he may not have been omnipotent, there was still very little that could escape his gaze. For something to be able to escape its gaze, it would have to be able to see, or at the very least sense him. No one should have been able to see him without him allowing, so this must've been a particularly old power.

That all said, he did have his suspicions. There was a force that existed, an old force. No where near as old as Light and Darkness, but still old, and quite powerful. But they weren't supposed to be present, not anymore at least.

" **Show yourself, I command you!"** Darkness called out into the forest. He received no answer, to his (if he was being honest) shock. For any being to refuse a direct command from him… it was almost unbelievable. The force was still present, and, now getting somewhat frustrated, Darkness would have loved to force the issue, and simply level the forest, but that would've counted as interference, which he had vowed to no longer do.

" **I do not know what you are, but I will found out,"** Darkness said **, "Of that, you can rest assured. You know not who you trifle with."** He then faded away, and as he did, the force peaked out from behind a tree.

" _He's beginning to sense our presence."_

" _Relax, we have nothing to fear from him. We must continue"_

" _He was wrong in one respect, we know very well who we trifle with."_

 _RYPJ Chibi: (sorry, no RPYJ Chibi this chapter)_

 **Note: Certainly a much shorter chapter. But it served its purpose, and I'm satisfied with it.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Also, something needs to be said: this story is not a comedy. It was never meant to be a comedy, anymore than the original** _ **RWBY**_ **was. Its listed as under the genres "Adventure/Drama", with some occasional humor sprinkled in. People who are dropping this story because its not funny enough approached it with the wrong mindset.**


	27. Rhythm

_**Rhythm**_

The second phase of the Vytal Tournament consisted of a two on two match. It was generally up to the teams to decide who was going to do the fighting. When it came to RYPJ, there had been a little debate on that matter.

Jaune had stricken himself off the list pretty quickly; he was defiantly not the guy for the task. Ruby and really wanted to do it, but it was settled on Yang and Pyrrha. While Pyrrha was a no brainer (nobody could really deny she was the best fighter on the team), Yang was probably the most physically powerful of the group.

Their opponents were Starr Lyte and Coral Ling from Shade Academy. Both were tall girls, with Starr having long blonde hair streaked with silver and silver clothes (a combat skirt and a tank top); her partner/girlfriend, Coral, was a macaw Faunus, with a pixie cut of pink hair with a white shirt, and black pants, while her Faunus trait was a pair of red feathered wings under her arms. Coral carried a pair of dao swords that could be shifted into pistol form while Starr carried what looked like a stylized violin of all things.

"Don't worry, Sparta," Yang said, as she and Pyrrha made their way onto the stadium, "We're going to kick ass."

"What did you call me?" Pyrrha asked, surprised by that word, "What's a 'Spartan'?" Yang opened and closed her mouth at that.

"I… don't know," she admitted, "It just kinda came to me. It made sense in my head, don't know why."

"You got this!" Jaune called from the stands.

"Come on you two! Rep Team RYPJ!" Ruby chimed in from her seat next to him.

"I'm sure Pyrrha and Yang'll prevail," Weiss said, ass she sat with her team, "But I have to wonder what their opponents will bring to the proverbial table."

"I've heard a little about this team," Ren said, "Good things mostly."

"Well, if anyone can beat them, its our pals!" Nora declared, as she jumped to the railing, and shouted, "Kick their rears RYPJ!"

"So, we're going up against Pyrrha Nikos?" Starr mused, as she spun the violin stick through her fingers, "This may be kinda hard."

"Don't rile yourself up, babe," Coral responded, as she loaded her pistols, "I bet she's all bark and no bite. Just like her hussy partner." Upon hearing that, Yang's eyes briefly flashed red.

"Ooh yeah," she said, as she cocked Ember Cecilia, "I'm gonna enjoy this." Pyrrha just took a breath, as she readied Milo and Akouo. The randomizer that selected the terrain they would fight on eventually came to a halt. It ended on half volcanic, half beach terrain.

"Well, I can think of worse places to have fight," Starr mused as she jumped back onto the rocks, before she put her violin to her chin. The timer than counted down, until it signaled the fight to start. Yang and Coral were the first to move to each other, as Coral's dao collided with Yang's gauntlet, causing the two to get knocked back. Yang followed up by boosting herself forward with her gauntlets, punching towards the Faunus. However, Coral beat her wings, launching herself out of the way. She landed on the mast of the ship on the beach side, and pushed off it to strike at Yang again, who managed to dodge out of the way just in time.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha went for Starr. But as she did, Starr struck a chord on her violin. Energy traveled the length of the strings to the instrument's neck to the scroll, before being released in a wave of power. Pyrrha to dodge the wave, as it left a small crater in the ground.

"Yeah, good luck trying to get close to me," Starr said with a smirk, as she started playing again, this time consistently, as the energy waves started streaming out, forcing Pyrrha to keep running. There wasn't much for her to use her Semblance on in this area, so her options were somewhat limited. She glanced at Yang, who was having some better luck against Coral, but was still mostly on the defensive.

Though the blond was holding her own, she was mostly on the defensive. Coral's offensive was virtually non-stop, and in almost perfect rhythm; she could be using slashing movements, then easily shift to shooting, then give a kick, go back to shooting, and then slashing. It was almost like a dance. Yang could only block, and maybe give the occasional punch, which Coral could easily dodge.

Pyrrha shifted her Milo into its rifle form, and got off a successful shot, hitting Starr's violin, causing a pause in her playing. That gave Pyrrha the chance she needed to get close, shifting Milo back into its xiphos form, and baring down on her opponent. As she collided with Starr, there was a huge kick-up of dust.

"What was that about trying to get close?" Ruby said, with a smirk. However, as the dust cleared, it showed that a blade had unfolded from the violin stick, which Starr was using to block Pyrrha's attack.

"What?" Starr sneered, "Did you really think I wouldn't come without some kind of melee weapon?" She then folded her violin arm behind her back, as she began to fight Pyrrha one-handed.

As Pyrrha and Star were dueling though, Coral's rhythm suddenly seemed to break. She was no longer moving as fluidly as before, allowing Yang to put in a few small blows of her own, and while she didn't notice, Jaune did. He glanced at the two, Pyrrha's duel and Yang's brawl. Jaune then noticed that despite not taking much damage, both girls' Auras was noticeably lower than when the fight started. He then put two and two together.

"Pyrrha! Yang!" Jane cried, "Those attacks are their Semblances!"

"What?" Ruby asked, surprised by that.

"Those shockwaves are Starr's Semblance, while Coral's Semblance is allowing her to move in perfect rhythm to Starr's playing," Jaune explained, "That's how they're fighting stop well." Though Yang was too distracted to hear him, Pyrrha managed to catch it. Needing a chance to talk to Yang, Pyrrha brought up Akouo, stunning Starr with a stick to the nose, before giving a solid strike that caused Starr to stumble off the rocks they were fighting, and to the ground. Upon seeing her girlfriend, go down, combined with her own fight not going so well, Coral retreated from her fight.

"Yang, come here!" she called, which Yang felt she had to do.

"What is it?" she asked up arrival.

"I know how to beat them!" Pyrrha explained.

"What?"

"I don't think you heard Jaune, but he said that they're using their Semblances," Pyrrha said, before gesturing to Starr, "Those sound waves must be her's, and her playing is allowing her partner to fight in perfect rhythm."

"Alright, that's all well and good," Yang answered, "So what do we do then?"

"Well, think about it, if they've been using their Semblances this whole fight," Pyrrha explained. It clicked in Yang's mind when she noticed that both Starr and Coral had been moving ever so slower than when the battle begun.

"So, we just need to out last them, then," she said, before grinning, "Well that's my speciality."

"Its more than that," Pyrrha said, "We need to break their rhythm if we want to win. To that end, we need to trade opponents."

"Why?"

"Just trust me." They don't have time to finish as Starr and Coral regrouped, and the former started playing again, and Coral launched herself with her wings, heading to Yang. But to her surprise, she found herself face-to-face with Pyrrha. Her strike was easily blocked, but Coral was able to maintain the battle rhythm with Starr's playing. That didn't last long, as Yang was suddenly on top of Starr. Forced into close combat, Starr's playing suddenly halted, and with that, Coral's rhythm did as well. Caught off guard, and off foot, Coral was kicked in the stomach by Pyrrha, before getting hit with an uppercut. She brought her swords up to defend herself from Pyrrha's blows, but with her rhythm broken, she was unable to properly defend herself.

"You've become so reliant on your Semblance and that of your partner, you can't fight on your own," Pyrrha said, with her own smirk, as she kept up the offensive against her opponent.

During this, Yang continued to pile on Starr, who kept trying to rebuild some range, but was quickly finding out that Yang was too relentless an opponent to think like that. Getting desperate, Starr tried striking a chord at short range; it did its job, in that it sent Yang tumbling away, but it also sent herself tumbling away. As she got up, Yang's frustration and anger began to build, as she let out a downright bestial growl. Starr was slower to get up; the continuous use of her Semblance had taken its toll. With a yell, Yang slammed her fists together, activating her Semblance. Her Aura again took a dragon like shape, as she launched herself at Starr. She caught her opponent square in the gut, sending Starr tumbling away, and straight into the wall. She landed on the ground face down, and she wasn't moving.

"Starr!" Coral cried, as she broke her battle with Pyrrha, and ran to her girlfriend. By leaving the ring, she was effectively forfeiting the battle. Yang panted, as her fists remained clenched. She hadn't done any illegal move or anything, but the audience was still rather taken back by the brutality. The medics came to Starr's aid, as Coral followed them, looking very worried.

"That was… harsh," Jaune said. Ruby remained silent, as she stared at her sister worriedly.

"That was both really cool, and kinda scary," Nora commented.

"That's the second time her Aura has made that shape," Blake said. She pondered if the others' Auras would do something similar.

"Yang!" Pyrrha called, as she ran up to her partner. Finally, Yang calmed down, as she felt a strange sensation on her arm. She looked down, and noticed it was again coated in yellow scales, though now her hand was a claw, which she quickly hid. As her and Pyrrha's victory was announced, and the audience got over their shock to start cheering, Yang hurried out of the arena, ignoring Pyrrha's call again.

Making her way into the entry way, Yang took another breath. She then looked at her arm, running her hand over it. The scales weren't especially rough, rather they were smooth, almost soft to the touch, kinda like those of a snake. The blonde then took a deep breath.

"Just calm down, calm down," Yang repeated to herself, as she held her arm. The claws and scales eventually receded. Sensing a presence, she looked up to see Shade looming over her.

"What is it?" she asked with a frown.

"We need to discuss what happened," the doctor said.

"We'll do it later," Yang answered with a frown, as she tried to walk away. But as she turned, Shade was standing there now.

"No, we will do it now, because I say so," he declared. No one there was no point in arguing, Yang said, and leaned against the wall.

"I know I slipped up again," she said, "But it was just one arm."

"One arm could very easily turn into a full body," Shade answered, "I meant to ask, though, how did you manage to transform back on Mt. Glenn?"

"I did what Ruby suggested, and thought about how much I wanted it."

"It is never that simple." Yang opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed.

"I… thought about how turning into a dragon I beat all my opponents much easier," she admitted, "It seemed really clear to me then." Shade narrowed his eyes in understanding at that.

"You were motivated by your ferocity," he said. Yang frowned and looked away.

"Well… so what?" she eventually, "If it works…"

"By drawing on your primal instincts like that, you are not allowing yourself any real control," Shade explained, "If you continue this methodology, your powers will become tied to your rage and ferocity. It will come to a point where in the slightest provocation might cause you to lose control. Imagine losing control in front of your sister." A chill cold enough to put Atlesian winters to shame ran down Yang's spine.

"I…," she said slowly.

"I cannot tell you for certain how to master your form," Shade continued, "You must find your own way. But your current way is not the right one." Leaving Yang to mull on those words, Shade took his leave. As he did, he noticed Pyrrha being talked to by Glynda. He narrowed his eyes at that.

 **(in the elevator)**

Pyrrha stared at the ceiling, as she wondered what Ozpin could want with her. She couldn't think of a solid reason; she got consistently good grades, never got in trouble, and was obviously an ace fighter. The potential answers made Pyrrha slightly nervous.

" **You need not worry about the possibilities,"** Darkness said as he appeared beside her **, "I doubt it is anything severe."** Pyrrha took some solace in that, especially with the knowledge that the God of Darkness was on her side.

" **To say that I am on your 'side', is inaccurate,"** Darkness said.

 _Would "ally" be more accurate?_ Pyrrha asked.

" **Perhaps."** The elevator dinged as it reached its designated level.

" **Well, shall your curiosity be sated?"** Pyrrha took a breath as, she walked over to Ozpin's desk, as Darkness floated beside her.

"Ah, Ms. Nikos," Ozpin said, as he looked up from the paperwork he had, "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course."

"Please sit down," Ozpin said, and after Pyrrha did, he continued, "Tell me, what's your favorite fairy tale?"

"Excuse me?" Pyrrha answered, surprised by the question. Darkness looked carefully at Ozpin at that.

"A simple question, with a simple answer."

"Well," Pyrrha responded, as she thought about ti for a time, "There are a lot of ones I like. "The Girl in the Tower", the "Four Maidens", the "Four Shades"…."

"Do you know of the Two Brothers?" Ozpin inquired. That got both Pyrrha and Darkness attention.

" **Is that what my brother and I have been reduced to?"** Darkness asked, sounding insulted **, "A fairy tale?"**

"Well, to me its not a fairy tale," Pyrrha answered. That was not at all a lie, if she was being honest.

"Oh forgive me," Ozpin apologized, "I did not know you are a believer."

"Yes, I'm something like that," Pyrrha answered. Okay, that wasn't a lie either, but it still wasn't the whole truth. Darkness still couldn't help but feel slightly offended by that.

"Well, I think the most important one is that of the Four Maidens," Ozpin said.

"What about it?" Pyrrha said. She would've said it was just a story, but considering the past month or so, she was learning that things were never just stories. Ozpin took another sip from his mug at that.

"We have much to discuss," he said.

 _RYPJ Chibi: Atonement_

 _Darkness was reading Blake's book again, enjoying his Saturday, which meant he didn't have to teach as Dr. Shade. Of course, mortals were not ones to give much peace, as Ruby came in._

" _Oh hey, can I talk to you?" she asked, sounding uncomfortable._

" _ **Depends on what it is,"**_ _Darkness answered, not looking up._

" _Well, I just want you to know that I stole some cookies, cheated on the last test, copied Weiss' homework…"_

" _ **Why are you telling me this?"**_ _Darkness interrupted, now looking up._

" _Wwwell, "Ruby said slowly, "I figured that since your a god, you're keeping track of my crimes and misdeeds. So I…"_

" _ **I could literally not care less about your petty mortal actions. I have**_ **far** _ **more important things to consider than that,"**_ _Darkness interrupted again._

" _You really don't care about my sins?" Ruby said._

" _ **None of those are sins,"**_ _Darkness said_

" _Really?"_

" _ **Really."**_

" _My babysitter lied to me," Ruby said, as a look of terrible realization came over her face._

 **Note: I'll admit its kind of weird to think about the fact that fanfics refer to Pyrrha as a "Spartan", when Sparta doesn't exist in this world. Its kind like saying, "by Dust" in other** _ **RWBY**_ **works, or "Holy Mavis" in** _ **Fairy Tail**_ **fanfics; its never said anywhere in the real setting, its just something fanfic writers came up with and others latched onto. But I digress…**

 **This chapter went through a couple different takes. After Qrow and Winter's spat, I knew I was going to omit Weiss and Winter's discussion, because there what was Weiss going to do? Spill everything and tell Winter that one of the all powerful creators has returned to Remnant and blessed her with great power? The most would've been a series of internal monologues for Weiss, if even that. My first idea was to depict CVFY's fight with Cinder's lackeys with Darkness' observation, but I felt Darkness would be so disinterested in it (for the time, Cinder's still beneath his gaze), there wouldn't be anything worth telling. Then I considered skipping the fight all together, but that would've been boring.**

 **Scripting this fight took a little brainstorm, but I settled on something that had a comparable feel to Yang and Weiss' own fight in canon. Making Coral a macaw Faunus was actually inspired by a video I saw where, in promotion of Netflix's** _ **Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance**_ **(awesome show, go watch it), Lindsey and Barb try and dress as the Skeksis. I swapped out a trumpet for a violin, and went from there.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	28. Fall

_**Fall**_

When Pyrrha decided to go Beacon, she was doing it under the assumption that it be an otherwise normal experience. She would. As it turned out, she was now a chosen one of the God of Darkness, she was being told that the story of the Maidens was all true, and that Ozpin wanted her to inherit the mantle of the Fall Maiden.

Pyrrha was now sitting outside the dining hall, watching the leaves drift off the trees. Strangely convenient that she would learn about it during the fall. While, if she was being honest, this was small information compared to learning of the presence of a god now, but that didn't make it any less important. She considered the possibility of being a Maiden now while also being a champion of the God of Darkness. Being able to turn into a dragon while having the powers of a Maiden? This would probably make her one of the most powerful mortals on Remnant. But was it something she really wanted?

" **Magic makes the world seem so much larger, does it not?"** Darkness asked, as he materialized in front of her. Darkness had also been rather surprised to learn that Ozma had been able to pass magic onto another, which meant that the magic signature he felt from Ruby's uncle likely came from Ozma as well. Initially he felt slighted, since magic had been his gift to humanity; he had allowed his brother to restore Ozma with his magical powers, though for his own, Darkness had opposed it. Magic belonged to the two of them, it was not Ozma's to give. But he had done his best not to dwell on it.

Though it had given him so new understanding of some certain individuals. He couldn't remember their team name, but hey were a group from Haven led by the girl, Cinder Fall. He had felt a signature from her, but it seemed small, or at least incomplete, so he hadn't given it any thought at the time. But seeing the Maiden, who had that same signature, it lead him to a realization. He pondered if Cinder and her lackeys were in league with that Salem girl. It wasn't impossible.

 _Do you think I should do it?_ Pyrrha asked.

" **Are you asking me for advice? Or are you asking me for permission?"**

 _I… I'm not sure why I'm asking, honestly. Just felt like I needed to._

" **Well then, if you wish for me to be honest as well,"** Darkness responded **, "I do not think you should."**

 _Why?_ Pyrrha asked _Would it be too much for my body to handle with the power you gave me?_

" **No, it is not a matter of power. It is a matter of identity. You will not be inheriting just power, but an identity as well. You could very easily lose yourself in it."** Pyrrha looked down at that, as she noticed a leaf land next to her, which she picked up, and studied it. To lose herself amongst potentially generations of experience. The mere thought of it made her skin crawl slightly.

 _I don't know what to do_ she finally said. Darkness was silent for a time, as he looked carefully at her, before folding his arms.

" **I cannot tell you what to do,"** he said **, "I am the God of Choice, which is a gift I imparted to you and. It would be remiss of me to make the choice for you. The greatest wisdom I can offer you is to consider the options, and make your own conclusion."** He left Pyrrha with those words, before fading away. Somehow that wasn't helpful at all.

 **()**

Ruby yawned rather loudly, as she made her way through the festival grounds, as the shops started closing up for the evening. Pyrrha was doing gods' know what while Yang was helping Jaune do some training, leaving the red-clad leader on her own with nothing to do but pace.

"So bored!" she groaned out loud.

"Perhaps I can help at that," a familiar voice said. Ruby stopped and turned to see Penny trotting up to her.

"Greetings, Friend Ruby!" Penny said, with a smile so big you probably could've seen it from space.

"Oh! Hi Penny!" Ruby said, returning the smile, "What're you doing here?"

"Well, my fight is supposed to be tomorrow," Penny said, "So General Ironwood told me to rest."

"'Rest'?" Ruby asked, cocking her head curiously, "Sorry to ask, but how do you do that?"

"Oh, I don't rest the way you do," Penny answered, "Its mostly keep my joints from wearing out, or using too much power." Ruby supposed that made sense. She could only wonder what it was like to be Penny.

"Ms. Rose!" Ruby looked over to see Dr. Shade approaching the two, "Who is your friend?" Ruby suspected Shade knew who Penny was, or at least Darkness did, but this was certainly the first time he was

"Penny, this is my… my tutor, Dr Shade," she introduced, "Dr. Shade, this is my friend, Penny Polendina."

'Salutations!" Penny greeted, with a wave and a smile.

"Indeed," Shade answered, with a nod, "I have… heard of you." The way he was looking at Penny was…. odd, at least to Ruby. It seemed mostly intrigue, but there was a little of disgust underneath it.

 _What's with you?_ she asked.

" **I observed you all during your skirmish at the docks. She was… impressive. And yet….."**

 _And yet… what?_

" **She is a mockery of me and my brother's creation. An…"** At that, he stopped, and thought for a moment. He didn't want to say "abomination" anymore, and yet…

"… **an aberration. Something that should not be."** Ruby didn't like the sound of that at all.

 _My dad once said plagiarism was the most sincere form of flattery_ she then commented, in an attempt to defuse the tensions slightly.

"So, Doctor," Penny said, "What do you tutor Ruby in?"

"History," Shade answered plainly.

"Sensational!" Penny declared, "I have always enjoyed history myself."

"Is that so?" Shade answered, arching an eyebrow, "What about it do you like?"

"I like the people of it, both humans and Faunus," Penny answered, "In particular, I like reading about the Great War."

"Really? Why?" Ruby asked.

"Because even after all that happened, all the kingdoms could still come together to work as one," Penny said, "To come together for a brighter future." Ruby smiled at that, while Shade blinked.

"An… interesting stance," he said, cocking his head slightly.

"My father once told me that its not about what we did in the past, its what we do in the future," Penny then added, "If we can move on from the past, then who knows how bright our future could be." Upon hearing that, Shade's eyes narrowed. He remembered watching the kingdoms that would rise and fall like the tides in his time, and the wars that always accompanied them. He could be forgiven for being cynical about having such an outlook on history.

"Well, irregardless, I'm afraid I must confiscate Ms. Rose," the doctor said.

"What?" Ruby asked, not really wanting to go with him now. Though as she thought about it, the god rarely, if ever gave her a choice.

"Well, farewell Ruby," Penny said, as she turned to leave, "Hopefully I'll see you soon." Once she was gone, the doctor gestured to Ruby.

"Now come," Shade said, "We are returning to Mt. Glenn."

"What are we going to do today?" Ruby asked.

"I am going to teach you all how to fly."

 **(at Mt. Glenn)**

Most of the group had been excited when they were told they were going to fly. Technically, Yang and Ren could already fly, but the rest of them had wings, and had to actually learn how to do it. Ruby and Nora in particular were eager to get started as they were teleported to the ruins.

" **Good, all of you appear to be ready,"** Darkness said, as they all took their dragon forms.

 _You aren't going to teleport us into the sky and let us fall, are you?_ Jaune asked nervously.

 _Don't give him the idea!_ Weiss protested.

" **No,"** Darkness answered **, "That would not be effective. Seeing as you cannot fly, you would simply fall. To that end, each of you go to the cliff**." After a moments pause, the dragons did as told. Pyrrha had a little more than trouble the others, but eventually got the hang of it. The book was again proving invaluable.

 _You got this, Ruby_ Yang said, as she floated beside Ruby. Despite herself, Ruby was suddenly quite jealous of Yang and her ability to levitate.

 _What now?_ Nora asked.

" **Jump."**

 _Say what?_ Jaune said.

" **Jump, or I push you off,"** Darkness responded.

 _Of course you will_ Jaune said, not sure why he was expecting anything else.

 _I thought you said…_ Weiss began.

" **I said I would not put you in the sky. The fall here would not even harm you that seriously."**

 _It would still hurt_ Ruby muttered as she looked over the edge.

 _Don't worry, Sis_ Yang said as she floated closer to Ruby, nuzzling her slightly _I'll try and catch if you can't do it._

 _But your arms are so small_ Ruby responded.

 _I said I'd try, didn't say I'd succeed_ Yang answered, with a wink. Ruby hissed in humor at that, the tension defused slightly. With that, she took a breath, and opened her wings. The others followed her not long after.

The first to jump was Blake. She had some success actually, though it was less flying, and more gliding, but that didn't matter to the Faunus turned dragon. It was… the feeling was indescribable. She was quickly followed by her friends. Pyrrha and Ruby were soon gliding freely alongside Blake. Jaune, Weiss, and Nora, however… Both of them crashed through the trees and face planted on the ground, crushing a couple Ursa in the process.

 _Nora!_ Ren called.

 _Jaune!_ Pyrrha said, as she tried to steer in Jaune's direction. Weiss decided not to feel bothered by no one calling for her.

 _We're okay_ Jaune said, as he and the others eventually got up, as Blake, Ruby, and Pyrrha glided down to them. While they did so, Pyrrha's lack of legs agains reared its ugly head, causing her to clumsily land. It was now her turn to assure everyone that she was alright.

 _What happened?_ Ruby asked.

 _In your forms, your arms just turn into wings_ Weiss explained _We've now got a third set of limbs that we've never had before. One's we're really not used to having._

 _How'd you guys do it?_ Jaune asked.

 _Well…_ Blake sure _Its hard to describe. We just opened our wings, and it came to us just like that._ Weiss looked over her shoulder, and flexed her wings slightly. It was still strange having that feeling. She wasn't sure if she could ever get used to the feeling.

" **I will admit, I doubted you would all get it on the first attempt,"** Darkness said as he floated down to their level.

 _Well, we made a start, right?_ Ruby asked.

" **You were not flying, you were gliding,"** Darkness corrected **Flying is different matter entirely."**

 _How are we supposed to fly, then?_ Pyrrha asked.

" **You continue practicing, that's how,"** Darkness aid, before teleporting them all back to the top of the cliff **, "Keep trying."**

 _Until…_

" **Until I say we are done,"** Darkness answered. With that, the five leapt off the cliff again.

That occupied the remainder of their day. Eventually, the six-limbers were able to glide, and from there, Darkness taught the ones with wings how to flap. Slowly but surely, the group seemed to be making gradual progress. Yang and Ren were also becoming proficient in their wingless flight. Eventually, as the sun began to dip towards the horizon, Darkness decided it was enough.

" **You are all doing otherwise well, but you are far from proficient** ,"Darkness said **,** " **You will all have to practice routinely in order to get a full grasp of it."**

 _How do we do that at Beacon?_ Yang asked.

" **I cannot say for certain, but you will have to find away, or else you will never be able to fully grasp your abilities."** He then gazed at the sun briefly.

" **That is enough for this day,"** he said **, "You all need rest."** The group all reverted back to their human forms at that. For his own, Darkness turned back into Dr. Shade.

"Oh, and by the way," he said, "Team BRWN, you still need to determine someone who will represent your team in the single matches."

"Oh crap!" Nora said, "We still haven't figured that out!"

"I still believe it should be me," Weiss said.

"You kidding!" Nora responded, "It should so obviously be your's truly!"

"Argue about it in your dorms," Shade said, as he waved his hand, transporting them all back Beacon, leaving him alone. He then looked back into the forest. The force he could once sense was not present at the time, but he glared at the trees nonetheless.

 _RYPJ Chibi: Second Skin_

 _Blake was making her way down the road, enjoying the book she had just received, before she tripped over something. After making sure her book was safe, she glanced over her shoulder, and saw what she could only describe as a giant snake skin._

" _What the…," she asked. Attracted by the noise, Pyrrha opened the door._

" _Blake, are you okay?" she asked._

" _I'm fine," Blake answered as she jumped to her feet, "But what's this giant snake skin doing here?"_

" _Oh sorry," Pyrrha said, "I didn't realize I left it there." Blake blinked, as she looked at Pyrrha in surprise, who seemed to realize what she said. Her face flushed red as her hair._

" _Well…. you know I'm a giant snake in my dragon form?" she asked, twiddling her fingers slightly. Blake paused, considering that for the time._

" _Oh…," she said._

" _Yeah," Pyrrha said._

 **Note: On a roll here. I've been re-watching Vol. 4, 5, and 6, so I got** _ **RWBY**_ **on the mind right now. I'm trying to steam through Vol. 3 as quick as I can as well. When I think about it, Beacon is a pretty restrictive setting. Once Vol 3's up, and we can leave Beacon, I'm looking forward to that. I've got the next eight chapters outlined out.**

 **I was looking really hard for a scene to put Penny in. The problem with Penny (which honestly sounds the title of a dramedy typing that out loud), is that she's what I call a satellite character. While still otherwise, significant she revolves chiefly around Ruby, while this story is chiefly about the God of Darkness, meaning other things are moved to the periphery. But I thought including Penny, at least a little, was important. I tried my best to not make it seem ham-fisted, but if it was, then it was a necessary evil.**

 **Obviously, not all the teens would get flight on the first time, but I'm sure they'll get it eventually. Side note, I don't believe in the "throw people into the deep end" methodology of teaching people to swim. If a person can't swim, they can't swim; through them into the deep end, they'll flail, then sink, then drown.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	29. Lies

_**Lies**_

"I still say it should be me," Nora said.

"It has to be me," Weiss said, "We need someone with finesse and skill, not simple brute strength."

"Don't you worry your pretty little scales, Weissicle" Nora said, "I'll do our team proud."

"I'm… not sure which phrase to be more annoyed by," Weiss said after a pause. Though if she was being completely honest, she was more impressed by Nora's choice of words rather insulted. The orange-haired girl never failed to think of something.

BRWN was currently arguing about who was supposed to be the represent their team in the one v. one match. Actually, that wasn't true, it was mostly Weiss and Nora arguing about it. Ren didn't especially care, and Blake wasn't enthusiastic about the prospect either.

"I'm the biggest dragon here," Nora said, "That's why it should be me."

"Well, if we're bringing dragons into this…," Weiss said.

"You know we can't use our dragon forms in the fights, right?" Ren said.

"You're our leader, back me up on this!" Nora said to Blake.

"If I'm being really honest, I'm not sure who should be our representative," Blake said, "I mean, Weiss has the skill, but Nora has the strength. I… I just don't know."

" **It should be Ms. Schnee,"** Darkness said, as he suddenly materialized in their room. Was it bad that BRWN was slowly getting used to him doing that?

 _What?_ Weiss asked.

" **It is as she said, Ms. Schnee's greatest strength is her finesse and precision,"** Darkness explained **, "In addition, her weapon allows her to use a greater variety of Dust, giving her a flexibility and adaptability none of you have. Something, in all bluntness, none of the rest of you have."**

"Well, who are we to question the wisdom of our creator?" Weiss said, not bothering to hide her smugness. Even Nora couldn't really find a counter to that.

"I still say it should be me," Nora repeated.

 **(in the Beacon courtyard)**

Pyrrha was enjoying the last glimpses of sunset from a bench in the courtyard. Growing up in Argus, she would often go to the cliffs to watch the sun set over the ocean. While she didn't have an ocean to watch this time, it didn't make the sunset any less magnificent. The way the fall leaves would blow across the rays made it all the more beautiful. However, seeing the leaves made her mind go back to the Fall Maiden.

A driving philosophy Pyrrha always had was destiny; she didn't pretend to understand it, but she did her best. Was being a Maiden her destiny? Her mind then went to what Darkness once told her, that she was driven by a sense of destiny instead of a sense of duty. Was that true?

"Thought you could use a little company," Jaune said, as he approached her carrying a couple water bottles, one of which Pyrrha gladly accepted.

"I could actually," she said, as she took a sip.

"Something on your mind?" Jaune asked as he sat beside her.

"Well… sorta," Pyrrha answered, really unsure about what to reveal. It wasn't that she didn't trust Jaune, far from it, far _far_ from it. But this was a lot to taken in, and Pyrrha didn't want to burden him with his information. Was this how Jaune felt when Darkness first appeared before him?

"I was thinking," she said, "Do you believe in destiny?" Jaune pursed his lips as he thought about it.

"Well, I asked Darkness about that, actually," he said.

"And what did he say?"

"He said that fate is not written in stone," Jaune answered, "But that we are allowed to lead our own destinies as the powers that be."

"But _he's_ one of the powers that are," Pyrrha said, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm just quoting him," Jaune said holding up his hands in surrender.

"Well," Pyrrha continued, leaning in, "What do you think?" The blonde gave that some thought.

"My dad always said that destiny is what we make of it," he said, "If you want to go further back, my great-great grandfather said that people make their own destinies through their own choices." Pyrrha considered those words for a time.

"Do you think meeting Darkness was destiny?" she asked.

"I can't say," Jaune answered, as he looked towards the sunset, "I just… tried to do what I could to make the best of it."

"Well, I'd say you succeeded," Pyrrha said.

"I'm just doing my thing. I think you're doing a lot better at it than me," Jaune said, with a smile, before he felt something on his hand. He looked down, to see that Pyrrha's hand was over his.

"I swear, you have a heart so big even Darkness couldn't make it," she said. Jaune looked at her, and the champion chuckled.

"Sorry," she said, "That sounded less corny in my head."

"Just be careful," Jaune said with a smile, "He might take that as a dare." Pyrrha chuckled, before looking at a leaf float past, and caught it.

"You know, when flying earlier, it was the freest I've ever felt," she said, "I felt like there was nothing I couldn't do, and nowhere I couldn't go."

"Yeah, it was something," Jaune said. Pyrrha looked at the leaf, and put it to her forehead, thinking about everything that had happened, and what would happen.

"I should get back, get some rest before tomorrow's fight," she said, as she jumped to her feet, before stopping, "Hey Jaune…"

"Yeah?" Pyrrha was silent for a time, before looking to him, and smiling.

"Just… thank you," she said, "I'll see you in the dorm."

"Yeah, you too," Jaune said, as the red-head left. As she did, he looked at the leaf she had, and picked it up himself, only wondering what Pyrrha seemed to be getting at.

 **(in the stadium)**

Weiss rolled her shoulders, and spun Myrtenaster though her fingers, as she stepped into the arena. She cracked her neck as Mercury joined her on the arena. As he did, Cinder smiled at the sight, before standing up.

"Where are you going?" Emerald asked.

"No need for me to be here, I'm going to go make a call, make sure things are ready," Cinder answered, before grinning at Emerald, "I'm sure you'll have it from here." Emerald then looked at the arena, and took a breath.

As the battle approached, Darkness materialized overhead, rubbing his fingers together. He was interested to see the way this progress, and how Weiss would fare. He knew she had greater self-control than Yang, so Darkness didn't have to fear her losing control of her dragon form. But that didn't mean assured victory.

"Don't worry, princess," Mercury said, as he took a fighting stance, "I won't beat you up too hard."

"Really 'princess'?" Weiss asked, "That's the best you could come up with?"

"I don't care enough about you to think of a good one," Mercury sneered. Weiss just scowled.

"Come on, partner!" Nora shouted, "Kick that dork's butt!" The countdown started, as Weiss switched to fire Dust, and the moment the match started, she released a ball of fire in his direction. Mercury easily dodged it, and kicked off, as his weaponized boots, Talaria, seemed to fire off, launching himself towards Weiss. Fortunately, using her glyphs, Weiss managed to dodge. Switching to wind Dust, she launched it at ground, kicking up a cloud of dust obscuring his vision.

Using her glyphs again, Weiss launched herself at Mercury, pointing Myrtenaster at him. However, Mercury brought up his legs, deflecting the attack, before kicking Weiss away. Digging her rapier into the ground, she managed to stop herself. She wondered briefly if Nora would've actually have been a better fit in this fight; she could certainly take more punishment than Weiss could, and had the strength to launch her counterattacks. Taking a breath, and knowing she couldn't dwell on these matters, she switched back to the fire Dust, and swung the weapon, sending an arc of fire Mercury's way.

The gray-clad teen dispelled it with his kick, before jumping at Weiss again. This time the heiress was prepared, so she managed to parry many of his strikes. She switched to gravity dust, and the force pushed Mercury away. He flipped to his feet, grinning at her, before boosting himself off with Talaria again. Unfortunately for the thug, though, Weiss had a plan now, as she switched to ice Dust.

Once again, she managed to parry most of Mercury's kicks without issue. While he was certainly fast, he didn't have much in the way of precision; it reminded Weiss of Yang's tactics slightly, only with his feet instead of his fists. Unfortunately, that meant he had the same weaknesses. Eventually, Mercury had to fallback for the time.

"You know," Mercury said, once again smirking so hard he could break glass with it, "you aren't going to make any progress by just playing defense."

"Are you certain?" Weiss asked, returning with her own smirk. Mercury's smirk dropped at her confidence, before he began to feel somewhat.. cold, and he glanced down. He saw that his right boot was completely frozen.

"What the…" He didn't get time to finish, as Weiss boosted off with one of her glyphs, launching herself at Mercury, and landing a solid strike on him. Before he could recover, she created another glyph and shot back at him, landing another blow. She did this several times, before the buzzer sounded her victory. The stadium went up cheers.

"You did it Weiss!" Nora cried, as Blake and Ren both gave standing ovations.

"I never had any doubt," Ruby said with a smirk while folding her arms. But as Weiss' friends cheered for her, Darkness looked carefully at her; something was coming, he could sense it.

"You fought good, I'll give you that," Weiss said, as she came up to Mercury, "But if I may impart some advice: try and expand your fighting methodology next time." She then turned to leave.

"Hate to tell you, Princess," Mercury said, as he rose to his feet, "But there won't be a 'next time'." He then leapt at her, his boot stuck out. Reflex kicked in, and Weiss dodged, and on instinct, she thrust Myrtenaster forward. She scored a direct hit, piercing straight through his leg. This was then followed by a cry of pain, and a series of gasps.

Weiss blinked and shook her head. Mercury was on the ground, wreathing in pain, Weiss' sword still stuck through his leg. Emerald quickly appeared at her partner's side.

"Why'd she do that? Why'd she attack?" Mercury cried as Emerald glared at her.

"Weiss Schnee!" The heiress looked up to see soldiers surrounding her, all armed, "Put your hands in the air!"

"But.. I… he…," Weiss stuttered. She looked around at the crowd, who were glaring and jeering at her. She looked to her team, who were all staring at her in appall. She then looked to Darkness, who was looking very pointedly at her. Did all of them blame her for this?

 **(on the outskirts of Vale)**

In the wilderness that surrounded the city, all the Grimm had their attention drawn in the direction of the stadium. A universal growl of anticipation rippled across them.

 **(outside the stadium)**

Cinder kept walking, as she smiled cruelly at the footage.

"Well done, Emerald," she mused to herself, "And now…" She then pulled up a different function, which showed Pyrrha's face. She swiped down, until Penny's face appeared next to it.

"This is going to be entertaining," she said.

 **(in the stadium)**

Darkness rubbed his chin, as he watched Weiss get escorted out by the soldiers. However, his pondering was cut drastically short, when Darkness sensed something. The same presence from the forest, it was in the stadium. Whirling around, he caught a glimpse of light atop the stadium, but the sensation vanished as soon as it came.

" **Enough of this game,"** he declared **, "I will find you."**

 _RYPJ Chibi: (sorry, no RYPJ Chibi now)_

 **Note: Finally Weiss gets her own battle scene. This is part of the issue of needing to get through this Volume quickly. I had to omit BRWN's own team fight. But that obviously needed to go out for this fight. Have I mentioned I really don't like Cinder and her comrades?**

 **The scene with Jaune and Pyrrha was to reenact the one in canon, but also to give Jaune and Pyrrha a real scene together. So far Jaune has had multiple scenes with Ruby, one with Weiss, one with Blake, and more a friendship scene with Yang. I'm going to look to give them all more scenes of affection; at least to give those beyond Ruby a chance.**

 **Also, hate to say it, but I'm going to be removing Cinder from the poll. The more I think about it, the more I realize that a Jaune x Cinder story won't work. I know she's currently the third most popular (granted she still has less than a quarter the amount Ruby does), but in this story, it just can't happen. I'm also taking the "other" option off the poll too, since at this point, its going to amount to one of the five.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	30. The Die is Cast

_**The Die is Cast**_

" _General, I know my sister,"_ Winter said _, "She's the last person who would randomly maim someone like that."_ Ironwood rubbed his temples at that. He had

" _Then there must have been some reason,"_ Winter said _, "Perhaps an illusion, or a stress-induced hallucination. There are records of large exposure to Dust having an impact on a person's mental state."_

"Winter," he said, shaking his head slightly, "You and I know both know that isn't true. I have to judge it as I witnessed it: your sister attacked and seriously injured her opponent completely without cause."

" _That's ridiculous!"_ Winter blurted. She quickly realized what she had just said, and how she said it.

"Specialist, you're out of line," Ironwood said sternly, narrowing his eyes. He didn't blame her for it, but that didn't excuse her attitude. Winter took a breath, as she regained her military bearing.

" _Yes, Sir, I apologize,"_ she said. Ironwood sighed.

"Something has to be done," he said, "What would you have me do?"

" _Disqualify her team, confine her to the academy grounds, but just don't arrest her,"_ Winter said slowly _, "Please."_

"I'll see what I can do," the general said.

" _Thank you, General,"_ Winter said, as the connection cut out, leaving Ironwood to sigh, and drag his hand over his face.

 **(in BRWN dorms)**

The team had just gotten word on Ironwood's ruling: Team BRWN was being disqualified, and Weiss was to be confined to her team's dorms. It was a pretty easy verdict, but that didn't make BRWN happy about it. But that wasn't the primary topic of discussion…

"I don't know how many more times I can tell you," Weiss said, "I saw Mercury trying to attack me."

"I"m sorry, but that's not what it looked like," Ren said.

"But that's not what happened!" Weiss declared.

"All we can tell you is that we saw you arbitrarily stab a guy who just standing next to you," Yang said.

"He wasn't just standing there!" Weiss protested, "He was jumping towards me with his weapons primed!" Her friends were silent for a time, exchanging looks.

"You… you believe me, right?" she asked, as tears begin to pool in the corners of her eyes.

"I believe you Weiss!" Nora declared folding her arms.

"Me too," Jaune said with a nod, "She's never given any reason for us to doubt her."

"I don't doubt her," Blake said, "But how can we explain what we saw?"

" **None of what you saw was correct,"** Darkness said, as he materialized in the room. Everyone looked to him in confusion.

 _What are you talking about?_

" **My vision transcends the mortal plain of existence,"** Darkness said **, "I was able to see both what Ms. Schnee saw, and what the rest of the stadium saw. It is true, she witnessed her opponent act aggressively towards her."** A flood of relief came over Weiss; she wasn't crazy.

 _So what happened then?_ Blake asked _Was it a illusion?_

" **As far as I can tell."**

 _But… I don't understand_ Weiss said _Who could've inflicted it?_

" **I do not know, but I do know that this is not actually the first time it has occurred,"** Darkness explained **, "I noticed it one time prior."**

 _Really? When?_ Ruby asked.

" **Remember the battle those second year students had with that 'Mercury' boy, and his partner?"** Both teams did remember that during the second round Coco and Yatsuhashi of Team CVFY fought against Mercury and Emerald. It had been an utter wash for CVFY, which was strange considering they were both very experienced.

" **While I will admit I did not pay especially close attention to their fight, I sensed a disturbance during it similar to the one that occurred during Ms. Schnee's fight."**

 _Wait!_ Yang said _Then that means either Emerald or Mercury must be doing something during the fights._

" **That would be most likely."**

 _So what are you going to do?_ Nora asked.

" **There is nothing to be done,"** Darkness said.

 _Wait, what?_

" **There is nothing I can do regarding what happened."**

"You're a god!" Nora blurted out-loud, as she stood up, "You can cause people to change their minds! Turn back time and make Weiss not hurt him!" As she did, her eyes turned reptilian, and scales appeared around the corners.

"Nora," Ren said, as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder, only to have it shook off.

"I swear to this guy right here!" Nora said, pointing to Darkness, "That I'm not going to let Weiss go down for something like this!" The god took a step forward, as his towered over Nora, bending down to her.

" **Control yourself, Ms. Valkyrie,"** he all but commanded. Ren squeezed Nora's shoulder again, and she took a step back, as her draconic traits faded away.

" **Your loyalty to your partner is admirable,"** Darkness said **, "But what you ask of me I cannot do."**

 _What do you mean, you can't?_ the orange hair girl demanded.

"Nora," Weiss said softly.

" **I am fully capable of such things,"** Darkness said, bending down **, "But I cannot intervene beyond the point I have already. What has passed, has passed, and you must all prepare for what will pass next."** Nora grimaced, before she finally sat down.

 _So… what now?_ Ruby asked.

" **You will continue as you have for the past few days,"** Darkness answered **, "As for myself, I will be leaving for a brief period."**

 _What for?_ Jaune inquired.

" **There is a matter that I must address outside of the city,"** Darkness explained **, "Ordinarily I would simply manifest myself in both locations at the same time, but this will require my full attention."**

 _Well, you disappeared for a long time before_ Ruby said _I think we'll be alright._

" **Maintain your control,"** Darkness continued with a nod **, "I will return in due time."** With that, he faded away.

"Well, if this whole thing has taught us anything, its this," Yang said.

"What?" Pyrrha asked.

"You'd better win this whole thing," Yang said, slamming her fist into her palm, "For both our teams!" Pyrrha was surprised, before smiling, and nodding firmly.

 **(in the arena)**

Pyrrha took a breath in a move to compose herself as she spun Mikos through her hand, while doing some stretches as she waited for Penny to arrive.

Meanwhile, Ruby was making her way back from the bathroom, as she scanned the stands for her team.

"Come on Yang!" she grumbled, "Where'd you make us sit?"

"Hey Red!" a familiarly smug voice called. Ruby looked over her shoulder to see Mercury coming towards her.

"Mercury," Ruby greeted, "I take it you're doing better?"

"Better than ever," Mercury answered, "That's your teammate down there, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Ruby said, taking a step back.

"What's with eh attitude?" Mercury asked, "Its making me feel unwelcome."

"I know what you and Emerald did to Weiss," Ruby said, as she instinctively reached for Crescent Rose, before she realized that she didn't have it with her. But that was quickly sidelined by another realization.

"Wait, where's Emerald?"

"If I had to take guess, probably in Row E," Mercury said. Ruby whirled around to look at the stands, and though she couldn't see anything initially, her eyes turned reptilian, and she managed to spot Emerald, who was looking straight at Penny, who was entering the arena.

"Oh no..," she whispered, as she started to move towards the entrance. She was stopped by a shot by the hall entrance.

"Can't have you getting in the way now," Mercury said, his leg held up, as he took a fighting stance. All Ruby could do was take her own, as she _really_ wished Darkness was with her at the time.

"It is a shame we won't get to watch this fight," Mercury said, "Polarity versus a girl made of metal, that would be quite the sight." Terror dawned on Ruby at that, as Pyrrha and Penny launched towards each other.

 _RYPJ Chibi: Magic Show_

" _How'd we dragged into this, again?" Yang griped._

" _Because Jaune and Ruby are our teammates," Pyrrha answered, "And they deserve our support." Yang rolled her eyes, as she folded her arms, and frowned at the stage. Jaune and Ruby were putting on a magic show (which unfortunately did_ not _consist of them turning into dragons), and that unfortunately meant at least Pyrrha and Yang had to be there._

" _Good evening, Beacon!" Jaune said, "I'm the Amazing Jaune Arc, and me and my lovely assistant, Ruby Rose…"_

" _Wait, I thought you were_ my _assistance," Ruby interrupted._

" _No,_ you're my _assistant," Jaune stressed, "I called dibs in the dorm."_

" _But that's not far…"_

" _Get to the magic already!" someone shouted._

" _And now, for my first trick, I will pull a rabbit out of a hat!" Jaune said, taking off his hat._

" _I thought I was going to cut you in half," Ruby said._

" _Its 'saw-in-half'," Jaune said, "And I don't trust you to get it right."_

" _Well that's not nice," Pyrrha said._

" _Maybe, but to be fair, I wouldn't trust Ruby with that either," Yang responded. With that, Jaune reached into his hat._

" _And three, two… TA'DA!" And he proceeded to indeed pull a rabbit out of his hat._

" _Velvet?" he asked._

" _Hey, watch the ears!" Velvet shouted, as she pushed Jaune off. She then promptly got her revenge by trying to pull Jaune's own ear off._

" _Wow!" Ruby said, as she approached him, "Maybe you were onto something."_

" _That wasn't half bad," Yang commented, "I still say he should've gotten Ruby to breath fire." From the back of the room, the Brothers watched with wrapped attention._

" _ **This is… pathetic,"**_ _Darkness commented._

" _ **On that, I can agree,"**_ _Light responded_ _ **, "But there is nothing abnormal about that. You gave them the power of magic, and they used it to create light shows."**_

 **Note: I liked that segment of Nora standing up for Weiss. I admire that kind of loyalty in a person.**

 **This chapter was much shorter than the last one, mostly because it served to set up things that will be coming up. I anticipate the next chapter being longer. Things are now set for the Fall, but it doesn't seem like Darkness will be there to help…**

 **Be sure to review.**


	31. PvP

_**PvP**_

Darkness appeared on the cliff that overlooked the Emerald Forest. If he had been a mortal, he would have considered how this cliff was where much of the endeavor had begun. But he was not a mortal, and did not have time for such small considerations.

Instead, he shifted into his true form, after which he spread his wings, and soared towards the trees. He was going to find the answers he needed, whatever it took.

 **(in the stadium)**

Pyrrha ducked under Penny's kick, before bringing up Akouo to knock her away. Penny flipped back, as her swords came out of her back to form a ring. The ring then lashed out at Pyrrha, who dodged out of the way. Switching Milo to its rifle form, she fired, though Pyrrha was able to block with one of her swords.

"I'm afraid, I'm quite combat ready," Penny declared with a smile. Two of the swords then thrust at Pyrrha who managed to deflect them with her Semblance. Switching Milo to its javelin, Pyrrha threw it at the android, which Penny easily dodged. But it occupied her attention long enough for Pyrrha to come close.

Switching to hand to hand combat, Pyrrha inflicted two powerful blows on Penny's stomach, before giving a roundhouse kick to her head. As Penny was knocked away, Pyrrha ran and recovered Milo to continue the fight.

During all this, Ruby was trying to hold her own against Mercury. Actually that wasn't true; Mercury was eight times the brawler Ruby would ever be, and it was showing. Ruby let out a cry as she was punched away into a wall. She only had time to just look up and dodge a blow to the head. The strike left a hole in the wall where Ruby's head was a moment ago.

Using her Semblance, Ruby tried to jet away, but in her desperation, she lost her focus, and stumbled over herself. She tried to pull her scroll out of her skirt pocket, but Mercury moved to fast, and kicked her in the side, sending her back into the wall.

"Why're you doing this?" she cried.

"None of your business that's why," Mercury said.

"You almost got Weiss arrested?!" Ruby cried, "Do you know what'll happen if you do that to Pyrrha and Penny?!"

"Oh I know," Mercury said, with a shrug, "I just don't give a crap!" The sheer callousness of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. But that chill changed into something different: rage; rage at his casual cruelty and selfishness. It was then that a single thought entered Ruby's mind: beat Mercury, and save her friends; with those thoughts, the magic power surged through her veins. With a triumphant smirk, Mercury kicked towards her, fully intent on ending this fight. However, he found that she had managed to catch her fist with one hand. Her face now obscured by her hood.

"What the…" He couldn't finish, as Ruby looked up at him. Her silver eyes had turned to slits with a red tint, as patches of red scales appeared on her face.

"Are you a Faunus?" Mercury asked. In response, Ruby let out a hiss, before she held up her other hand, which had turned into a claw. As she swung it down, Mercury managed to free himself. As he fell back, he noticed claw marks on the leg. He looked back at Ruby who was glaring right through him with her reptilian gaze, as she opened her mouth revealing a row of sharp teeth.

"What the hell are you?" Mercury said, as he got ready to continue the fight. Ruby just growled as steam leaked out of the corners of her mouth, before launching towards him. Mercury just managed to dodge as Ruby's claws raked against the wall, leaving deep gashes. Mercury fired Talaria at Ruby, but the bullet harmlessly deflected off her Aura. Ruby then inhaled, before fire burst from her mouth. Mercury leapt away, but the heat still got to him. For the first time in a while, Mercury was completely, and utterly at a lost as he stared at the girl whose appearance was becoming progressively more reptilian.

Deciding to shelve those thoughts for the time, he concluded this wasn't a fight he could win, Mercury took off. Though she initially looked to follow him, Ruby managed to regain her thoughts. Looking at her hands, she took a deep breath, and willed her draconic traits away. She then turned her attention back to the stadium, as she fumbled for her scroll, only to find it was broken.

"Oh no…," she whispered.

 **(in the Emerald Forest)**

Darkness continued to scour the forest, but he hadn't been having any luck. He growled, this was it, his patience was at its end. Flying up until he was high above the forest, he then held up his claw, and let out a pulse of magic across the forest. The pulse disturbed what few Grimm were still in the forest, but they weren't the only ones.

It was then that Darkness saw it, a flash of light through the trees. That was it, that was the one that Darkness had been searching for. Folding his wings in, he dove towards the light in pursuit.

 **(in the stadium)**

Pyrrha continued to clash with Penny, with little side having much luck. Bringing her armament together, Penny released her energy beam, but seeing it coming, Pyrrha dodged. She then faced three of Penny's swords, which she repelled with her Semblance. Switching Milo back to its xiphos form, she parried several more swords, before leaping towards Penny. The android block Pyrrha's blade with her arm, but Pyrrha quickly countered by punching up with Akouo. However, Penny quickly recovered, and kicked the red-head away.

Pyrrha skidded to a halt, as she looked up at Penny, who was eager to continue; she held up all of her swords, pointed at Pyrrha, intending on going all in. From the stands, Emerald seized her chance, as she narrowed her eyes in concentration.

Before Pyrrha's eyes, the blades doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled, until a cloud of steel clouded the girl's vision. Pyrrha's eyes didn't so much widen as they turned into discs. In the sight, she knew it had to be an illusion, as Darkness and warned her.

 _It's an illusion! Its an illusion!_ she chanted to herself. But as Penny launched her blades in her direction, her reason began to give way to something different: the draconic instincts bestowed upon her by the god. Her senses become subsumed by her primal drives, as her eyes turned to slits, scales appeared across her face, and she opened her mouth to cry out, but instead, a cloud of red fire burst out. Penny's eyes widened, as she was so surprised she didn't have time to avoid the attack as the fire utterly consumed her. Shaking her head clear, Pyrrha looked up as she saw the the fire dissipate. In Penny's place was a flaming, metal skeleton with an internal green glow.

A series of gasps and screams rippled across the stands, as people tried to process what they were seeing. For her own, Pyrrha opened her mouth, but instead of words, steam came out. The skeleton just stared at her, before it opened its mouth.

"Ah…," it croaked out, "Ah…" It didn't finish, before it collapsed back. The light then faded from its eyes and body.

It took Ruby a full second before she processed what just happened, before her scroll slipped from her grasp, and she fell to her knees, as tears dripped from her eyes. She tried to say Penny's name, but somehow couldn't find the words. This was her fault…

 **(all across Remnant)**

As the negativity poured out from the city and across the world, all Grimm looked up in near perfect unison. Like a dark flood, they began to move…

 **(somewhere….)**

A tall, cloaked figure stared a screen projecting in front of it. A pair of metallic hands clenched into fists…

 **(in the stadium)**

Even Emerald was surprised by the sight as she hurried away. She hadn't been anticipating Pyrrha to do _that_. Irregardless, the mission had succeeded. The gasps had turned into murmurs and ponders, as the cameras focused on the smoking, metallic being. The smoking, metallic being that was once an otherwise innocent Atlesian girl. The shock soon turned to fear, and the fear soon turned to terror….

The screen then changed to a blank one save for the national symbol of Vale. And from that blank screen, came a voice….

" _This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both."_

 **(on the outskirts of Vale)**

The Atlesian guards were instructed to focus their attention towards the city. The attempted incursion into Vale was orchestrated by people, so they were to keep their eyes on the people. To that end, they didn't see the Grimm coming up behind them…

 _"They say in times of peace, prepare for war. In the aftermath of the Great War, the four kingdoms embraced that concept wholeheartedly. Far better to build walls than roads."_

 **(in the stadium)**

Pyrrha fell to her knees, as she gaped at what she could only describe as her handiwork. Her friends couldn't do anymore than that as well.

" _But Atlas took a step further; they would rather build soldiers from metal than train people. And even then they took it further, building a soldier from metal that would look and act like a person. Why, you may wonder? I believe the answer is actually quite straightforward: not so the Grimm can't tell the difference, but so that people can't tell the difference."_

 **(in the dorms)**

Weiss was disturbed from the book she was trying (i.e. failing) to read, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked out to see some airborne shapes appearing on the horizon.

" _And what of Ozpin, the great patron of the Academies? What is he teaching the next generation? How a girl could consume another girl in a blazing inferno? Once again, the answer is very simple: how for people to kill other people."_

 **(in the Emerald Forest)**

Darkness continued to pursue the force through the trees, and while it was nimble, the god was determined to stop this ridiculous chase. With a roar, Darkness reached out his claw at the form of light, releasing tendrils of dark energy from his palm. It was getting closer, and closer, and closer….

" _Under his watch, we were mere steps from the Creatures of Grimm overrunning Vale. Perhaps that is why he allowed Atlesian military to step into our homes, and police our streets with impunity. Appeasing tyrants is far more resource friendly, after all."_

 **(outside the stadium)**

"So I ask you: when the first shots are fired… who do you think you can trust?" With that Cinder, ended her broadcast. She looked up towards the sky, as airships. The girl just smiled, before cracking her neck in anticipation.

"Let's get started," she muttered.

 **(in the stadium)**

The warnings quickly turned on announcing incoming Grimm. The threat level was "9", the second highest threat level there could be. The announcers and security tried their best to maintain some semblance of order, but it was quickly apparent it wasn't working. Much to the contrary, the spectators began to clumsily flee.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, please,"_ Ironwood said over the announcement system _, "There is no need to panic."_ He was almost immediately after he said that, a Nevermore appeared over the dome, looking very hungrily at the people underneath it.

 **(in Ozpin's office)**

Ozpin looked over the city. Already his trained eyes could see the forms of airborne Grimm making there way in the Academy's direction. He tightened his grip on his cane as he set his mug down. Right then, Qrow burst in, with Glynda not far behind.

"Reports are coming in," Glynda said, "Hundreds of Grimm are incoming. They will be in the city limits within the hour."

"So I can see," Ozpin said slowly, "Get to the city. The sooner we deal with it, the quicker we can get it under control."

"What about the stadium?" Qrow asked, thinking about his nieces.

"The students will be safe," Ozpin said.

"But.."

"Just go," the professor said, and when they didn't do that, he added, "NOW!" Qrow and Glynda exchanged looks with each other, before they both left the way they came. Ozpin then looked over the city to see the Atlesian warships floating over it, pulling out his scroll. It was time for the general's army to be put to use.

 **(in the Atlas warships)**

"Orders just came in!" one of the soldiers said as he ran into the room, "Let's get these Grimm out of the skies!"

"Copy!" the soldier said, as he moved to take the controls. Almost immediately after he started punching in information, the controls lit up red.

"What the…" What almost looked like a face appeared on the screen.

" _Override complete,"_ the "face" seemed to say, before fading out. Suddenly, the warship began to turn to the port.

"What's going on? Stop this ship!" the captain ordered.

"I can't, the controls aren't responding!" To make a bad situation far, far, _far_ worse the ship's guns pointed in the direction of its neighbor…

 **(outside Beacon)**

A series of bullheads floated down towards Beacon. The doors opened up, revealing ranks of White Fang soldiers, at their head, was a man with red hair and a red suit, with a sword at his hip. Adam Taurus grinned in anticipation.

"Leave no survivors," was all the bull said.

 **(in the Emerald Forest)**

Finally, the draconic god snatched the light up, before skidding to a halt, bringing a some trees down in the process.

" **AT LAST."** He could feel it struggle in his claw, but there was nothing to be done, and finally Darkness got a good look at it, and for the first time in eons, he was truly shocked. It was humanoid in shape, but had pointed ears, black sclera, golden pupils, and skin that glowed an ethereal white. Darkness knew exactly what this thing was…

It was a Spirit.

 _RYPJ Chibi: (way too serious a chapter for one)_

 **Note: So the Spirits the Faunus believe in are real after all…**

 **A lot happened in this chapter. I initially didn't want so much to happen this chapter, but as I kept writing, the more kept coming on. So I ended up playing out the whole PvP episode. Penny was fortunate enough to not get torn to pieces by Pyrrha; instead, she gets her outer layer burnt off by dragon fire. I know some were hoping for Penny to survive, but her death was an integral part of the story.**

 **As I'm sure some noticed, I changed some of Cinder's speech to suit the situation. And even though Roman wasn't there to do it, she found a way to hack into the warships. Wonder how…**

 **Be sure to review.**


	32. Battle of Beacon

_**Battle of Beacon**_

The Grimm descended upon Vale like a storm. The Kingdom defenses were at work, but the sheer number of the Grimm were quickly proving too much for them. The Atlesian warships were supposed to be shooting them down; the key word was "supposed"… Much to the contrary, they were now firing on each other. Things were looking progressively bleak for the Republic of Vale.

In the stadium, most of the students had already left to go join fight, but RYPJ and BRN had remained, the former because of their teammate, and the latter to back them up. For her own, Pyrrha was still on her knees, staring at Penny's still smoking remains. Most of her friends' attention, however, was up at the Nevermore, which was still pounding away at the dome. That was save for Ruby…

The red reaper zipped down to the arena, and came to a halt in front of Penny. She slipped to her knees, as she hung her head in sorrow over the smoking remains of her friend.

"Ruby," Jaune said, as he came to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Ruby reached up and put her hand over his, glad for his company.

"That barrier won't hold forever," Blake said, as she came up as well, looking up as the Nevermore continued to hammer away at the force field.

"There are probably more Grimm coming as we speak," Ren added.

"What do we do?" Nora asked. That was when Ruby suddenly stood up, as she wiped her tears. She then looked up at the Nevermore, as at last, the barrier broke. The girl's fist clenched, and her eyes narrowed.

"We fight!" Ruby declared. She then closed her eyes and rose her arms, as her body was consumed in a red glow. When she emerged, she had entered her dragon form. The dragon then collided with the Nevermore, and started wrestling with it in the air. Yang then leapt into the air herself, as she also turned into her dragon form, and flew up after her sister.

"I ain't letting them have all the dragon fun!" Nora declared, as she also transformed. While her take off was a bit clumsier than her friends, she was soon in the air along with her friends.

"Ren, go back up the girls," Jaune said, putting his hand on Ren's shoulder. The guy in green nodded, before shifting into his dragon form.

 _What are you going to do?_ he asked.

"We need some people on the ground," Jaune said, "Not all the Grimm are airborne."

"I'll stay too," Blake volunteered, "You'll need all the backup you can get." Jaune nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, in the air, Ruby bit at the Nevermore's neck, but as they wrestled, she couldn't get a good grip. For its own, the Nevermore raked its talons across her chest, though her Aura deflected the blows. The Grimm managed to kick the dragon off, but Ruby was far too persistent to give up that easily. With a boost of her wings, she slammed back into the Nevermore, wrapping her tail around its body, and digging her own, thorn-like talons into the beasts' body. With the Nevermore focused on Ruby, it wasn't able to notice yellow glow coming from behind it…

Letting out a vicious roar, Yang slammed into the Nevermore on her own, knocking it out of Ruby's grasp; using her long snake-like body, Yang mangled to constrict the Grimm, as she bit into the back of its neck, keeping it still. With the back up, Ruby inhaled sharply, before releasing a cloud of fire into its face. With that attack alone, the Nevermore quickly faded away.

 _Remember those old stories about dragons you used to read to me?_ Ruby asked.

 _Yeah, why?_ Yang asked.

 _Let's go reenact them!_ Ruby declared, before flapping towards Beacon. She was followed closely by her friends. As Jaune watched them all fly away, he turned his attention back to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha," he gently called. Pyrrha didn't answer, as she continued to stare at Penny.

"Go get Weiss," Jaune said, putting a hand on Blake's shoulder. Blake put her own hand on Jaune's arm, and nodded firmly, before running out. Jaune then went over to his downed teammate.

"Pyrrha," he said, as he knelt in front of her. Again, he got no answer, until he put his hands on her shoulders, and made her look at her.

"We HAVE to go," he said.

"I… I…" She then hung her head as she started crying. Jaune took a breath, as he decided to do what seemed to have worked well for him the past: wing it.

"I really don't know what to say," he said, "But all I know for sure, is that we have to do something, or else Vale is doomed."

"But I just…," Pyrrha whimpered.

"What you did doesn't matter right now," Jaune interrupted, "What matters it that we save as many people as possible. In case you haven't noticed, Ren and Nora, plus two of our own teammates are currently fighting in the sky." He then picked up Milo and Akouo, and held them out.

"We could really use your help," he finished. Pyrrha stared at the weapons, as she took a breath in an attempt to calm herself. While it failed to do so, it did serve to give Pyrrha some clarity of mind, as she slowly took the weapons.

"Let's go," she said.

 **(at Beacon)**

The students were fighting on to keep the Grimm at bay, but they were vastly outnumbered, and things were getting worse by the second. There were even some kinds Grimm they hadn't even seen yet. As Coco kept firing, a Beowolf leapt up from behind her, only to get bisected by Velvet whose weapon was mimicking Crescent Rose.

"You can thank me…" Velvet couldn't finish, as another Beowolf came after her, which had to be gunned down by Coco.

"Let's call it even!" the team leader said. But that was only two Grimm out of an ever growing army. Most of the Atlesian Knights were in the city, so they didn't have any real backup.

"There's too many!" Neptune said, as he impaled a charing Boarbatusk.

"Keep fighting!" Sun shouted, as he struck down a Creeper coming at him. There was then a magnificent red glow which got their attention, but they did't get a chance to dwell on them, as the Grimm were annihilated in brilliant clouds of fire. The fire was coming from four dragons, one red, one pink, one green, and yellow. Each one spewed fire over the ranks of Grimm.

"By the Brothers…," Coco murmured.

"Are those… dragons?" Velvet murmured. The red dragon flew low over them, and they could've sworn it as smiling at them, before it roasted an Ursa coming at them.

"At this point, I'll take it!" Sun declared, as he kept fighting.

 **(at the dorms)**

As Blake cut her way through the Grimm, making her way to the dorms. She could've used her dragon form, but five dragons flying through Beacon may have been pushing it a bit too much. She was beheading a Beowulf with a Creeper came up from behind her, only to get blasted by fire Dust.

"Blake!" Weiss called, as she hopped down from the dorms with her Glyphs, "What happened?"

"I'm honestly not sure," Blake answered, "But we need to go, the others need our help!"

"Where are they?"

"Jaune and Pyrrha are already fighting," Blake said, "The rest are in the air." As if on cue, Yang soared towards them.

 _Are you guys okay?_ she asked, as she floated overhead.

 _So far, I suppose_ Weiss answered _What's going on?_

 _Would you believe its the White Fang again?_ Yang said. Blake looked straight her draconic friend. Them again? What was bringing them in constant contact like this?

 _The White Fang?_ Weiss said _Why are they here?_ Blake certainly had her ideas, and all of them were very frightening.

"It doesn't matter," she said out loud, as she tightened her grip on Gambol Shroud, "But we've got to stop them!"

 _You know it, Kitty!_ Yang said _Ruby, Ren, Nora and I will keep the sky clear! Good luck!_ With that, she swooped back into the air. Blake took a deep breath, as she glared in the direction of the smoke.

"Let's go!" she declared. Weiss was quick to follow her; she was always up for beating up the White Fang.

 **(in the Emerald Forest)**

" **TO THINK YOU MITES CONTINUED ON IN THIS WORLD,"** Darkness growled to the spirit in his hand.

" _One of your_ many _oversights,"_ the spirit answered. Darkness responded by tightening his grip, as the creature hissed in pain. All this time and effort and on one of these was the cause of all this annoyance. He was currently perched on the cliff again, savoring his triumph over the imp. But that satisfaction was petering away as time passed on.

" **DO NOT TEST MY PATIENCE, YOU KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO YOU,"** Darkness said.

" _You have no control over me,"_ the spirit sneered _, "After all, you're the_ younger _brother."_ An irritated growl came from the god, as he again tightened his grip. The Spirit let out another yelp.

" **YOU MAY BE ABOVE THE MORTALS, BUT YOU ARE STILL FAR, FAR BENATH ME,"** Darkness said, before he noticed something **, "YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THE FOUR."**

" _No, I'm not,"_ the spirit answered, painfully grinning at the god.

" **WHERE ARE THEY?"** Darkness asked.

" _Not here, as I'm sure you can tell."_

" **TELL ME!"** Darkness commanded, as he stuck his snout in the spirit's face.

" _You sure you want to spend your time with me?"_

" **WHAT OF IT?"**

" _You might want to take a look back in the direction you came from,"_ the spirit said.

" **WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"** Darkness growled.

" _Maybe if you got your lizard head out of your tail…"_ The spirit trailed off, leading Darkness to growl again. But nonetheless, he turned his head back in the direction he came from. And now, despite being completely confident that he was above such "small" and "mortal" emotions, dread began to simmer within…

" **NO…,"** Darkness murmured. With a single squeeze, a shock of dark magic, and a brief cry from his victim, Darkness crushed the spirit into nothing. Opening his wings, he started making his way back to Beacon.

 **(at Beacon)**

With a cry, Pyrrha blew the head off a Beringel, before switching Milo into its javelin form to thrust through a Boarbatusk. Meanwhile, Jaune was holding his own against a Beowolf, but with limited success; eventually, the Grimm knocked him back, but fortunately, Ruby was quickly over them, snatching it in her jaws. With a almost sickening crunch, she destroyed the Grimm.

 _Bleh! That tasted terrible!_ she said, before she asked her partner _You okay?_

 _For now!_ Jaune answered. He managed to duck under another Beowolf's slash, before stabbing it in the chest.

Nora, meanwhile, was still soaring over head, incinerating the Grimm on the ground, and occasionally one on in the air, that was until she got flanked by a Griffin. The Grimm bit at her neck, though Nora's Aura kept it at bay. The dragon girl bit at the Griffin's own neck,but wasn't able to do much damage herself. With a roar, electricity crackled down her spine, before she practically burst with lightning. The Griffin, as well as a few in the area, were obliterated almost immediately, freeing the girl.

 _Yeah!_ Nora said with a roar _That's what I'm talking 'bout!_ Unfortunately, she didn't really get to savor her victory, though, as another Griffin came at her. The Grimm raked its claws across Nora's belly, and the girl's Aura (already sapped by everything that had happened) gave way, as the Grimm's talons gouged into Nora's body, leaving deep gashes. Nora let out a scream of pain, as the Griffin then grabbed at her neck with its beak.

Fortunately for her, Ren came up on the Griffin, and bit into the Grimm's neck. With the force he committed, and his sharp teeth, it knocked the Grimm's heads off. As it faded it, freed Nora, who tried to regain some altitude, but in her pain and confusion, she couldn't regain her bearings, as she desperately flapped her wings, not so much descending as plummeting.

Ren let out his own roar, as he dove in Nora's direction as the pink dragon continued to cry out. She tried to land, but as her claws hit the ground, she started skidding, before she smashed straight through a small structure, reverting back into her human form, tumbling head over heels. Finally, she came to a stop, as she sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

Floating down to her, Ren landed reverting to human form, as he bent down over Nora. Fortunately, the wounds weren't as bad in human form, but they still looked pretty bad.

"Ren!" Jaune called as he and Pyrrha ran over.

"Not as bad as it could've been," Ren said, as he picked her up "But still not good."

"Get Nora out of here!" Jaune said, as he and Pyrrha turned to keep fighting, "We'll cover your back!" Not in a position to argue, Ren picked up his closest friend, and turned to retreat. That only left Ruby and Yang in the sky to deal with the airborne Grimm. As she watched the sisters clash with the monsters, Pyrrha's grip on her weapons tightened.

 **(in the streets of Vale)**

With a grunt, Qrow dodged a strike form a Deathstalker. Before the Grimm could do anything else, it was buried in rubble by Glynda.

"For the record, I had that," Qrow said as he put Harbinger on his shoulder.

"I am not the least be interested in hearing it," Glynda answered with a glare. A glare that even Qrow had to admit made him shrink slightly. He turned his attention back to the battle, where he noticed the Atlesian Knights were doing well against the Grimm themselves.

"Got to hand it to Jimbo," he said, Those bots ain't too shabby." As he and Glynda kept fighting, the Knights kept firing, until suddenly, they all stopped. They seemed to glitch slightly, before they all slouched down. They then suddenly stood up rigidly.

" _Override complete,"_ the all said together. Qrow and Glynda glanced over, as all the Knights suddenly trained their weapons on them…

 **(with Weiss and Blake)**

While the rest of the students were dealing with the Grimm, a Schnee and a Faunus were fighting the White Fang. If Darkness or Light were there, they may have laughed at the irony of fate. Using her Semblance, Blake managed to dodge an attack. She managed to strike down another soldier, before having to dodge a charging Ursa. That gave some Atlesian Knights the chance to strike, but they themselves were promptly struck down by Weiss.

"Thank me later!" Weiss called, as she dodged another attack. She would've been wondering why Atlesian automatons were firing on civilians, but this had been a rather weird past few months. She couldn't dwell on those thoughts though, an Atlesian Paladin charged at her. On reflex, Weiss opened her mouth, though instead of fire, out came a blast of ice, that froze the mech in place.

"Well, I suppose that's more fitting for someone like me," Weiss mused, as mist leaked from her mouth. Once again, she couldn't dwell on what was happening, as she had to strike down another couple White Fang soldiers.

"There's too many," Weiss said, as she and Blake went back to back, "Forgive the cliche, but are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"In front of everyone here?" Blake asked.

"Well, if you have a better idea…." Blake didn't, but nonetheless, a single clear thought was going through their minds: protect Beacon. Blake nodded in understanding, as both girls took breaths, and drew upon the magic reserves within their bodies. Their bodies began to glow, as scales began to appear on their bodies and faces. But that was when Blake saw a familiar figure dressed in red striking down an Atlesian soldier.

"No…," she murmured as she stopped glowing.

"Blake!" Weiss said, as her concentration was broken, and her transformation was also halted.

"Long time, no see, my dear," Adam said coldly, as he turned towards Blake.

"Whose that?" Weiss asked, and when her teammate didn't respond, "Blake?"

"Go," the Faunus hissed.

"Excuse me?"

"GO!" Blake snapped, "Find the others!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Weiss protested.

"Weiss!" Blake snapped, catching the girl offugard, "Please." Weiss really didn't want to, but when Blake turned, and she saw the traces of tears in her eyes, Weiss knew she couldn't protest any further, and turned to run.

"Shame, I would've liked to kill her," Adam sneered, as he pointed Wilt at Blake.

 **(on the Vale rooftops)**

Cinder folded her arms, as she looked on in satisfaction. The attempted breach may have failed, but this was more than making up for the loss.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" she commented to her lackeys, who were standing behind her.

"Its… something," Emerald commented, not looking as enthusiastic as her boss.

"You're filming this, right Mercury?" Cinder asked, looking towards her other "comrade".

"Yeah…," Mercury said, as he held up his scroll. Though like Emerald, he seemed somewhat distracted.

"What's with you?" Emerald said, "An ass like you should be savoring every moment of this."

"Just… nothing," Mercury said, "None of your business." Emerald glared at him, but it rolled right off him. She then looked back and Cinder, who continued to smile, before looking towards Beacon.

"And now that this is done…," she muttered.

 **(on the outskirts of Vale)**

Darkness shifted into his humanoid form, as he stood on the cliff, looking over the city of Vale, as it burned beneath him. His creations were running rampant across the city. How could this have been happening? He suddenly regretted terminating the spirit then. Surely it must've known something.

He tried to think if there was anything he could do. He could've simply willed it, and all of them would've just left. Alternatively, in a single act he could've destroyed all of them. But to do so would be to intervening beyond what Darkness could do at this point. There was nothing the god could, beyond just watch, and listen to prayers he couldn't answer. All he could do was hope that his champions would be able to fight off the beasts…

His attention was then drawn by a sensation and sound. He looked towards the mountain that loomed over the city. The rocks began to crack, as a black form began to reveal itself underneath. Darkness knew immediately what it was…

From the mountain, with a massive shriek, burst the largest Grimm anyone had seen in ages; it was in the shape of a wyvern with a massive set of jaws. As it flew over Vale, black ooze dripped from its body, and as the ooze splattered on the ground, Grimm spawned from it. Darkness watched as it passed by.

" **So,"** he muttered **, "They still remain…"**

 **(in the courtyard)**

As Pyrrha watched the Wyvern soar overhead, her fists clenched. It didn't matter how many Grimm they could bring down, more would continue to take their place. As powerful s they were, they weren't powerful enough for this. As far as the champion saw it, there was only one recourse left. Looking towards Beacon tower, she stored her weapons, and took off in that direction. But she was quickly stopped by Jaune grabbing her arm.

"Where're you going?" he asked.

"Somewhere I should've been a while ago." With that, she tore her arm free, and continued running.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune moved to follow, but had to defend against a King Taijitu. As Pyrrha charged towards the tower, Cinder watched from the shadows, as his eyes glowed maliciously.

"At last, it'll all be mine," she muttered.

 **Note: Finally some real dragon action in this chapter. Though let it be said I never established that in dragon form their scales were especially strong. Not yet at least…**

 **I changed Vale from being called a "kingdom" to a "republic", because that's what it is. Starting in Vol. 4, I'm going to be do some world-building of my own in this story, even in opposition to established canon world building aspects.**

 **I also recently got** _ **The World of RWBY: The Official Companion**_ **which explained what Salem's real plan is. According to it, Salem's goal is to gather all the Relics and all the Maiden powers so she can permanently end Ozpin, and rule over all Remnant.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Sidetone; if there's anybody who can draw, and would like to take a shot at drawing the characters in dragon form…**


	33. Of Dragons and Beasts

_**Of Dragons and Beasts**_

When she first saw the Wyvern, Ruby had to admit, she was attempted to try dragon v. dragon on it, but as its share size really set in, she came to terms with that being a bad idea. Ruby fluttered back down to the ground, as shifted back into her human form in front of Jaune.

"We can't save Beacon," Jaune said.

"Jaune!" Ruby said, shocked by her partner's words.

"There are too many Grimm," the blonde explained, "And with that Wyvern dropping more of them, more will keep coming. We have to get out of here!" Ruby opened her mouth to argue, and she really, really wanted to. But she couldn't, because there were no new points to make about it. She then hung her head in defeat, and nodded slightly.

 _I'm going to get Blake and Weiss!_ Yang said, as she veered off. Jaune then looked up at the airship that was still firing on the others.

"We have to deal with that warship!" he said, "I bet the drones are being controlled from up there!"

"I'm on it!" Ruby said, as she got ready to transform.

"No!" Jaune said, "You've used enough energy!" He then looked up, as he took a deep breath.

"I'll do it," he declared.

"Jaune…" But it was too late, as Jaune disappeared in white-gold energy, as he assumed his dragon form. He took a breath, as he spread his wings. He still wasn't sure if he had this whole flying thing down, but he had managed to survive being thrown of a cliff in initiation, this couldn't have been too hard.

….right?

 _Jaune!_ He hesitated as he heard Ruby's call. He turned down to look at her.

 _You come back_ she said, as she looked up at him, tears glistening her eyes.

 _You know it!_ Jaune answered. With that, he took off, making his way towards the ship. As he did, hijacked Bullheads made his way towards them, firing. While his Aura deflected the worst of the strikes, Jaune still let out hisses of pain, but didn't bother with them. He beat his wings harder, as he built of speed, until he was in range.

 _I'm sure you can hear me, Darkness_ he said _Just… please let this work!_ He then inhaled deeply, as deep as he could, before exhaling a massive cloud of golden fire, bigger than any of the ones his teammates could use. It struck directly into the ship's engine. After a sizable explosion, the ship began to lose altitude, and soon crashed not the outskirts of the city. All the mechs immediately keeled, as the signal broadcasting them was cut off.

Jaune let himself be relieved for a moment, before he noticed the Wyvern veering in his direction, and he swooped down towards the ground. As he landed, he reverted to human form, and as he did, he looked towards Beacon. His mind went back to Pyrrha…

 **(at the Beacon courtyard)**

Ruby smiled in relief as she watched the airship come down, and the Knights deactivate. But it was a short lived relief, as several Grimm charged at her. She got ready to fight, before a wave of cold mist engulfed all of them, turning them all to ice.

"Ruby!" The reaper glanced over her shoulder, to see Weiss approaching her.

"Weiss!" As two more Beowolfs came at Ruby, the heiress took a deep breath, before she exhaled another cloud of ice, freezing them both solid. She quickly then had to dodge a strike from an Ursa, which she easily cut down.

"Are you…" Par the course, Ruby couldn't finish. Unfortunately, Weiss was quickly set upon by a Goliath of all things. Weiss charged Myrtenaster with fire Dust, and launched a fireball. When that failed, Weiss quickly decided to fight fire with ice; she sheathed her weapon, and drew upon her powers. But as she did, she pondered how she was going to fight. Even in dragon form, the Goliath was still bigger than her, so she would have to use her speed. But what if she didn't have energy to use her ice breath anymore? What if the thing was faster than she thought? Weiss looked down to see her scaled body only to realize that she hadn't couldn't think on the "why" though, as the Goliath was almost immediately on top of her.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried. Weiss found herself knocked back by a swing of the Goliath's trunk, sending her tumbling away. As she leaned back up, the Grimm was charging her, and she held up her hands instinctively; as if on cue, the iconic Schnee glyph appeared beside. But instead of a armored arm or sword appearing, from the glyph came a draconic head that resembled Weiss' own; it exhaled a huge cloud of mist, which consumed the Grimm's entire face. When the mist dissipated, it showed the Goliath stumbling around, its front third covered in ice. Quickly seizing on her advantage, Weiss summoned up what little Aura remained, creating the strongest glyph she could, and launched forward with Myrtenaster enhanced with fire. She struck true, going right through the Goliath's forehead, killing it instantly.

"Wow," Ruby said, not sure which part to be more amazed by as she watched the beast fade away. She ultimately settled on the ice dragon instead of the glyph (it struck a little closer to home to her).

"So you don't use fire?"

"I suppose not," Weiss answered, as she panted, "But I'm not complaining. I can only imagine how dry that makes your mouth."

"Actually, its not that bad."

"Really, I always thought…. wait! Why are we talking about this now?!"

"I don't know!" Ruby squealed, waving her arms, "I thought you were talking about it!"

"Just… forget about it," Weiss said, "Where're the others?"

"Nora got hurt, so Ren took her away, Jaune just brought down the airship, and I bet he went to look for Pyrrha," Ruby answered.

"What about Yang?"

"She went looking for you and Blake, wait a minute," Ruby said as she realized something, "Where's Blake?"

"I don't know," Weiss answered, spreading her arms, "We got separated in the fighting. Last I saw, she was fighting the White Fang near the dining hall."

"The White Fang?" Ruby asked, "They're here?"

"Don't ask me how or why," Weiss said, shaking her head, "I probably can't give you an answer without sounding prejudiced." Ruby cringed, as she clenched her fists.

"Can you transform?" she asked, "We need to go look for her and Yang."

"No, not right now at least," Weiss said, looking at her hands, "I don't know what's wrong. Can you?"

"I can try," Ruby said, as she closed her eyes and tried to transform. But as she did, thoughts swirled through her mind: finding Yang, helping Jaune, saving Beacon. When she opened her eyes, she was still human.

"I… I can't do it either?" she asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Weiss said. Being completely honest, both girls still didn't understand how they really transformed. At first they though it was willpower, but that clearly wasn't the case. But as the night was quickly proving, they couldn't dwell on those thoughts, as they turned to see more Grimm charging in their direction.

"I…. I don't know what to do," Weiss eventually said. Ruby honestly didn't either, as she tightened her hold on Crescent Rose. She wanted to go for Blake, but with all the Grimm coming, her fellow students would need all the support they could offer.

"We trust in Yang," she said, "And we keep fighting." While she was happy with it, Weiss couldn't find any more options…

 **(in the Beacon elevator)**

"I wish I could tell you this was the right choice, Ms. Nikos," Ozpin said, as he and Pyrrha descended towards the Vault, "I really do. But we don't have the privilege of wondering that right now."

"I understand," Pyrrha said softly, "Will it hurt?"

"I won't lie, it will," Ozpin said, "And it will not be quick."

"I… I understand," Pyrrha repeated, as she clenched her fists. The door soon opened, and the pair hurried out, where Amber's pod was. Another pod rose up, and knowing what to do, Pyrrha settled herself into it.

"Before we begin, are you….," Ozpin began, as he made his way over to a panel of some sorts.

"Don't say that," Pyrrha interrupted, "Don't make me second guess this anymore." She then paused in thought.

"Sorry for interrupting." Ozpin just chuckled grimly at that.

"Your manners truly become you," the teacher said with a slight smile. He then started pressing buttons.

"Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in destiny?" For a moment, Ozpin was silent as he stopped pushing buttons, before he looked up and smiled.

"I believe people make their own destinies through their own choices," was all he said.

 **(in the remains of the Beacon dining hall)**

Blake blocked a strike from Wilt, before countering with her own strike, which Adam easily parried. Their blades locked, where Adam's superior strength go the better, and push her off. But while he had strength, Blake had agility; she flipped back, and switched Gambol Shroud to its gun form, and opened fire. Adam deflected with the bullets with his sword

Blake clenched her teeth, she couldn't beat Adam like this. Of course, this wasn't the only way she could fight; knowing exactly what to do, she drew upon the magic reserves bestowed upon her. But as she tried to concentrate, dozens of thoughts ravaged through her mind: her fight with Adam, protecting Beacon, fighting against her own people… Try as she could, she couldn't transform

"What…," she murmured, looking at her hands. In her confusion, she was caught off guard when Adam kicked her in the stomach.

"You've gotten soft," he said, as he spun Wilt through his fingers, "You've gotten weak." Blake clenched her teeth. She leapt back to her feet, and towards Adam, as the two exchanged several more strikes. Eventually, the two locked blades, until Adam overpowered her, and pushed her off. Blake got knocked back, as she panted.

"This will be the beginning!" the red-head declared as he advanced on her, "The beginning of the age of the Faunus! The humans will be _our_ slaves!"

"You're a madman!" Blake said.

"I have a vision!" Adam declared, "A vision you once shared!"

 _Blake!_ Recognizing Yang's "voice", Blake glanced up to see a yellow dragon soaring through the air over the dining hall.

"Yang!" Blake called. Hearing that, Adam glanced up.

"What the hell!" he called out loud. Yang looked down, and saw Adam looming over her friend. Her eyes turned to slits as she let out a savage roar, as she dove at Adam, her jaws open. Adam turned in shock, and a little bit of horror, as his reflexes kicked in, and he swung Wilt as Yang came upon him, as he unleashed his Semblance.

"YANG!" It was something of a blur, but the next thing Blake knew, a gold-scaled claw dropped in front of her. Yang slammed clean though the wall, before reverting back to her human form, unconscious. Adam tried to comprehend what just happened, before he shook his head clear. It had to be an illusion; yes, that was it, the human had to have a Semblance that made her seem more imposing than really. Typical of their race. The Faunus in red grinned cruelly as he advanced on Yang, before holding up his sword to finish her off. He then glanced at Blake briefly.

"Say your goodbyes," he said. As he held the sword up in anticipation, all the other thoughts left Blake's thought, save for one: save her friend. Adam's attention was drawn to a burst of light, and he only had a chance to look up, as a panther-like dragon leapt at him with a roar. He instinctively leapt away, as one of the blades that formed the wing spines grazed across his mask.

One half of the mask fell to the ground, as Adam held up his hand to hide the now exposed part of his face. He looked around, but saw no sign of the dragon anywhere, nor Yang. He couldn't dwell on it, as he was suddenly charged by another Beowolf.

 **(in the Beacon vault)**

"Alright, all is ready, Ms. Nikos," Ozpin said.

"Very well," Pyrrha said softly, as she blinked some stress tears away.

"I need to hear you say it," Ozpin said bluntly.. Pyrrha opened her mouth, and at first no words came up.

"Do it," she finally forced out. Ozpin took a deep breath, as he activate date device. It took some time, but Amber's Aura began to transfer through the device, into Pyrrha. The warrior quickly learned that Ozpin hadn't been exaggerating when she said it would hurt, and even that was an understatement.

It felt as if ever vein in her body was filled with fire. She could feel the power of the God of Darkness clashing with the power of the Maiden. She opened her mouth to cry out, though instead of a voice, came a roar. That caught even Ozpin off guard, as she saw red scales ripple over her body, as if there was a some kind of beast under her skin. He was suddenly eerily reminded of an old force, a _very_ old force.

"How could…" He was silenced, as there was the twang of a bow.

Amber bolted awake, gasping in pain as an arrow stuck in her chest. Pyrrha gasped as the process was suddenly cut off, as both she and Ozpin looked up to see Cinder standing at the end of the corridor, smirking triumphantly as she lowered her bow.

Pyrrha cried out, as she banged on the glass, to know avail. After a moment, Amber slouched back, as her the light faded from her eyes. A glow emerged from, bursting out of the glass, as it floated into Cinder. The woman gasped, as the power flowed through her, before trails of orange light slipped from her eyes. She sighed, as she held up her arms, and she floated into the air.

"Run, Ms. Nikos!" Ozpin ordered, before Pyrrha could even register what had just happened. The professor then held his cane at the ready.

"But I can help!" Pyrrha said, "I can…"

"GO!" Ozpin snapped. Pyrrha was taken aback by his order, but could only ring, as she bolted away. As she did, she glanced over her shoulder, to see Cinder looming over the professor.

"I guess she was right about you," she said coldly as she floated towards Ozpin, "Your arrogance really knows no bounds."

 **(at the Beacon docks)**

With the airships down and the mechs deactivated, the evacuations were finally underway. However, with half of the ones the Atlesians had brought already down, it was all going slowly. Ruby was sitting on the ground, her face buried in her hands.

"We did all we could, Ruby," Weiss said, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Did we though?" Ruby said, as she looked up, "He said we would be powerful. Well…" She then put her hands back in her face.

"I really don't feel strong," she said.

"Ruby!" The girl in red looked back up to see Blake coming over holding Yang over her shoulder. She was initially happy to see them, but than she got a better look at Yang.

"YANG!" Ruby cried as she shot over to her sister as Blake set her down, "What happened?"

"I'm sorry," Blake said softly, as she fell to her knees in tears, "I'm so sorry…"

"Alright," Sun said, as he came over, jerking a thumb over his shoulder, "Our ship's here, let's go!"

"Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!" Ruby said.

"We have to go now!" Coco said, "We don't have those dragons flying around anymore, and there's a giant Grimm coming in! Even the White Fang are pulling out!" Upon hearing that, Ruby clenched her teeth.

"I'm not going anywhere without my team!" she declared. She then turned on her heel, as she started running. As she did, Weiss sighed.

"She'll probably hurt herself on her own," she said, as she ran after her friend.

 **(in the Beacon courtyard)**

Pyrrha collapsed her knees in a combination of exhaustion and despair, as she looked over the wreckage of what was once a proud institution. She looked to the broken moon, as she cried out in hopelessness.

"Pyrrha!" A spark of hope came back as she saw Jaune coming at her. He came to a stop in front of her, as he put his hands on his knees.

"Finally, I found you!" he said, before grabbing her hand, "Let's go!" Pyrrha initially wanted to follow him, before she looked up at Beacon tower, and yanked her hand back.

"No!" she said firmly.

"What?"

"You go," Pyrrha said, "I'm going to deal with Cinder!"

"What?" Jaune asked, "What does she have to do with this?"

"Everything!" Pyrrha all but snapped, "Now just go!"

"No way!" Jaune declared, as he grabbed Pyrrha's shoulder. "I know I can't convince you not to do anything, but I sure as heck aren't going to let you do this yourself." Upon hearing that, Pyrrha's chin quivered. She then embraced her teammate and friend.

"Thank you, for everything," she said. With that, Pyrrha struck Jaune in the stomach, knocking him down and out. Blinking back her tears, Pyrrha glared at the tower, and cracked her neck.

 **(atop the tower)**

All in all, it had been a good day for Cinder. Everything had gone swimmingly: the Atlesian doll had been destroyed (spectacularly if she could add), the Grimm were unleashed, and to top it all off….

"Finally, its mine, all mine," she murmured, as she lit a ball of fire in her palm. She then noticed the Wyvern soaring overhead, to which Cinder smiled.

"Truly, the most magnificent of them all," she murmured. Her attention was then seized by the sound of metal on metal. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the elevator come up. She had about a second to react as Milo was launched at her, but that was all she needed, as she casually leaned her head to the right.

Pyrrha herself then launched herself out of the elevator, as she swung at Cinder with Akouo, who easily parried. She then created a blade made out of fire, which she swung at the champion, who blocked, and leapt back, before summoning Milo back to her hand with her Semblance.

"Uh," Cinder said, in the same tone a noblewoman might address a serf, "You really think you can beat me?" Pyrrha wasn't going to grace that with a response, as she took a battle pose. With that, she launched at Cinder, who simply held up her hand. She sought a blast of fire at her, which Pyrrha magnet to block. Using her Semblance, she summoned some debris, and launched it at Cinder, who flicked her wrist, sending it all away. But in that moment of destruction, her opponent swung her blade at her. While she managed to duck without issue, it was a little closer than it should've been. Her smirk turning to a scowl, Cinder created a second blade of fire.

Pyrrha managed to block the first sword, but had to jump away from the second one. Cinder threw both at Pyrrha, who managed to avoid both of them. She then switched Milo to gun mode, but Cinder created a shield that blocked it. Flicking her wrist, the shield turned into a blast of fire, which Pyrrha held up her shield to defend, but the force still sent her careening away. She rolled slightly, almost falling off the edge, managing to stop by using her Semblance to pull herself back into the room.

Creating a spear, which she spun through her fingers, Cinder narrowed her eyes.

"I am getting really bored of this, you know," she sneered.

 **(outside the tower)**

Ruby and Weiss cut, and occasionally froze and burnt their way through the Grimm, before they finally reached the tower. Once they did, Ruby caught sight of her partner on the ground, unconscious.

"Jaune!" she cried, as she ran to him. As she propped him up, he stirred.

"Where's Pyrrha?" Ruby asked. Jaune grunted, as she weakly pointed to the top of the tower. Ruby looked up, as she clenched her teeth in anticipation.

"Go!" Weiss said, as she shot down another several Grimm with lighting Dust, "I'll protect him!" Ruby didn't want to leave her partner, but knew she didn't have much of a choice, and that Weiss could be trusted with him. Taking a breath, she stood up, as one thought came to her mind: help Pyrrha. With that, she was consumed in a red glow…

 **(atop the tower)**

Fire and steel clashed against each other again,creating a show of light, as Pyrrha and Cinder continued to duel. Cinder swung wide, as Pyrrha leaned back, the weapon passing close she could feel the heat coming off of it. Somersaulting back, she sent more debris at Cinder, who easily destroyed all of it with her spear.

Now getting actively frustrated, the Fall Maiden decided to end all of this. She held up her hands, and created her favorite weapon: the bow and arrow. Cinder just notched another arrow, and drew back. With a cry, Pyrrha threw Akouo at her opponent, right as Cinder loosed. The arrow and the shield collided, and the arrow was shattered… only to reform on the other side.

The arrow pierced right through Pyrrha's knee, both bone and muscle. Crying out in pain, Pyrrha made it worse by falling to her knees. Taking a breath, Cinder smirked triumphantly, as she approached Pyrrha, as she lifted her face to look at her.

"Quite the effort, I'll give you that," she said, "But you don't know what true power is." To her surprise, the champion just laughed.

"I know better than you ever could," she said. That struck a deep, deep nerve in the Fall Maiden, whose eyes narrowed.

"What're you getting at?" she hissed.

"I've seen power, _real_ power. The very power that created this world," Pyrrha said, "Compared to it, you aren't even an insect." Cinder's face contorted in rage, as she backhanded the red-head, knocking her back to the ground. She then took a couple steps back, as she materialized a bow, which she aimed at Pyrrha's heart.

"Any last words?" she asked. Pyrrha growled, as she leaned back up.

"Do you believe in destiny?" she asked, glaring through the pain.

"I really couldn't care less," was all the Maiden answered with, before loosing the arrow. Right then, her vision was filled with a tremendous red glow. But soon it cleared…

The bow Cinder was carrying dissolved, as she took a horrified step back at the sight before her. In Pyrrha's place was a massive, winged serpent with red scales and bronze plating, as long and thick as a King Taijitu. It reared up to its full height, at least twice Cinder's own, and opened its bronze wings. The dragon then opened its mouth.

" **Because my destiny,"** it declared in Pyrrha's voice **, "does NOT end here!"** With that, crimson red fire spewed from its mouth. Cinder desperately tried to form a shield, and while it blocked the flames, it didn't fare so well against the force, which knocked Cinder back… and off the ledge. The Fall Maiden could only scream, as she plummeted into the dust and smoke.

Pyrrha then spread her wings, and roared in triumph, before her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground. As she did, Ruby fluttered to the top.

" **Pyrrha!"** she cried, not bothering to notice she was actually _talking_. Not bothering to notice that Pyrrha was still in her dragon form, Ruby crawled over to her, and nudged her with her nose.

" **Come on!"** she said **, "Wake up! We got to go!"** She was attracted by a howl, and she looked up to see the Wyvern diving straight towards them. Ruby inhaled, and released her fire, but it was too small to cause significant damage against such a larger beast. The Wyvern landed on the tower, looming over them, as it opened its mouth….

" **NO!"** Ruby cried, as silver light burst from her eyes. The Wyvern howled again, as its entire form vanished into the light….

The light soon cleared, and as Ruby blinked away the spots, she saw that the Wyvern was frozen, as if encased in stone. She smiled weakly, but it quickly faded as she collapsed as well over her friend. As conscious faded away, she saw Darkness materialize before her.

" **Your story is not yet completed,"** he murmured, as he waved his hand, and everything went dark….

 **Note: Pyrrha lives! But she didn't get the Maiden powers, you know what that means…. One thing I'll say that bothered me about Pyrrha's death, was that she went out kind of a little too easy. In my opinion, she should've been the one to maim Cinder's face.**

 **This was my longest chapter yet, easily. Yang losing her arm was imperative to the story; its a huge point of development for the character; getting rid of it would due this story no good. Again, I never established that their dragon scales were exceptionally strong, let alone impenetrable. In regards to them not taking their dragon forms more, I can't say why, because it ties into a broader part of the story, but I think I have been dropping hints as to why exactly.**

 **There's going to be an "epilogue" chapter, if you will, after this, then we'll finally be done with Act 1 of** _ **RWBY**_ **, moving onto Act 2. I'm going to start making more deviations from canon, including some more OCs, mostly antagonists, to give the story my own twist. I'll leave it at that for the time being. There aren't going to be many** _ **RYPJ Chibis**_ **for the time, and I'm probably going to be doing some "World of Remnants" instead, albeit with alterations to the world building to again give it my own twist.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	34. End of the Beginning

_**End of the Beginning**_

Ruby gasped, as she sat up. After regaining her bearings, she looked around, and saw that she wasn't at Beacon anymore. Quite the contrary, she was in her bed in her room at her house in Patch. She glanced at the window, and hissed at the light. She then noticed a tall, muscular man with blonde hair seated beside her, asleep.

"Dad?" she called softly. That caused Taiyang Xiao Long to stir, as he opened his eyes, which quickly lit up upon seeing Ruby.

"Ruby!" he said happily, as he came closer to his daughter.

"What happened?" Ruby asked again, as she tried to get up, only to be nudged back down by her father.

"Stay down for now," he said, "You've been out for a couple of days."

"A couple of days," Ruby said. She had meant to shout that, but found her voice too tired.

"What happened at Beacon?" she asked,

"Hey Tai!" a new voice called. Ruby looked up to see her uncle leaning in the doorway, swirling his flask.

"Can you give me a minute with Ruby?" he asked, "Maybe you can go get her something to eat." While Tai was certainly disinclined to walk away from his recovering daughter, he knew Qrow wouldn't take "no" for an answer. As he left though and his friend walked in, Tai grabbed Qrow's shoulder, and glared at him, as a series of unspoken words went between the two.

"If its not one thing its another," Qrow grumbled as he sat at the end of Ruby's bed, taking another swig, "Atlesian androids, giant Grimm that can create more Grimm, and to top it all off, dragons in Vale." Ruby hoped her sudden tense up wasn't too visible.

"I found you and the Pyrrha girl on the outskirts of Vale," Qrow continued, "No clue how either of you got there, but I managed to get you both to safety. Tai insisted I bring you back here, and… here we are."

"What… happened to Pyrrha?" Ruby almost didn't want to know. Her uncle was silent for a second, before took a breath and emptied from his flask down his throat.

"What happened to her?" Ruby asked, in more forceful tone that reminded Qrow a lot about a certain someone. Someone else with silver eyes….

"The damage to her knee was too severe," he finally said, "They had to amputate her leg." Ruby slouched back upon hearing that. The champion of Mistral, one of the prodigies of their time, one of the kindest souls Ruby had known, had been crippled. How could this have happened?

"Tell me what do you remember?" Qrow asked her. Ruby looked at her hands.

"I… was one the tower with Pyrrha," she said, "And then the Wyvern came at me and…" She trailed off, that was actually all she really could remember, and it wasn't like she could reveal that she was one of the dragons, right? But as she tried to remember, her head pulsed in pain. Her uncle looked at her carefully at that.

"Tell me, kiddo," Qrow said, as he studied the now empty flask, "What do you know about your eyes?"

"My eyes?"

"That's what I said."

"Uh… well… they're silver?" Ruby said, not sure what Qrow was expecting to hear.

"And what do you know about people with silver eyes?" her uncle asked. Ruby just stared at him, before shrugging, to which Qrow sighed.

"There aren't many people with silver eyes anymore," he said, as he slipped the flask back into his pocket, "But in the old days, it was said that those who with silver eyes were the greatest monster hunters in the world. Bestowed with a power to bring down even the mightiest Grimm. Can't speak to the truth of it I guess, but… you were sorta kinda killed by one of the largest Grimm seen in years, and you're here and and its frozen on top of Beacon Tower." Ruby processed all she heard. She knew that the Grimm were created by the God of Darkness, so obviously these powers didn't come from him; did that mean….

Ruby didn't know much about the God of Light, since she didn't think it would be… "appropriate" to discuss it with his brother. But could that power really come from him? She supposed it wasn't impossible.

"So… what now?" she asked.

"You're going to rest," Qrow said, as he got to his feet, and headed to the door, "After that, well…" He then shrugged.

"I know you too well to tell you to do anything particular." With that, he left. Ruby looked out the window, watching winter set in, as she then looked at her hands, which clenched into fists. That was when something on the wrist caught her eye. Looking closer

 **(the next day, off the coast of Patch)**

" _What do you mean your not coming home!"_ Vermillion all but shouted. Jaune quickly glanced around to make sure no one else on the boat was staring at him. The eldest Arc child was a tall woman with the normal Arc traits of blue eyes and blonde hair (which was long and curly) with a red shirt.

"Well I…" Jaune couldn't finish as the scroll was snatched by a girl with a pixie cut of dirty blonde hair wearing a violet dress over a white shirt.

" _Jaune's not coming home?"_ Violet asked _, "But now that…"_ She was then shoved out of the way by a girl with messy hair in a green shirt under a brown vest.

" _Is it because of the bullies?"_ Jade asked _, "Because if their still giving you crap, I'll rip their guts out through their…"_

" _Jade!"_ Vermillion scolded.

" _Bite me, Milly!"_ Jade answered. In her moment of distraction, the screen was taken again.

" _So, you're too good for us, huh?"_ one girl asked as she and a near identical girl appeared on the screen.

" _Some fancy huntsman, now, huh? Too good for us 'normal people?"_ the other twins, Aoki and Azure were both tall, with their straight haired tied back with blue ribbons. Jaune sighed, finding it hard not to chuckle, not sure why he expected anything else from his sisters.

He was currently on a boat making its way to Patch. After the Fall of Beacon, he got a call from his family, all but demanding his return, and though he had to admit he was tempted, there was still work to be done. Ruby would be striking out to find answers, and as her partner, Jaune had to be there for her. He was also being accompanied by Nora and Ren, who were all too eager to keep up with the remaining members of RYPJ.

"Guys, I'm in public here," Jaune said, "Can you please keep it down a little?" He then noticed that there were five females on the screen.

"Where's Cyan?" he asked.

" _Hey, Four-Eyes!"_ Jade called to a person offscreen _, "Our baby brother wants to know where you are!"_ There was the sound of a sigh, as the phone was passed to a girl with long straight hair in a cyan dress with glasses.

" _Hello Jaune,"_ Jaune's sister greeted _, "I trust you're well."_

"Well, I just saw Beacon get destroyed, so there's that," Jaune answered. At that, Cyan got elbowed rather firmly by Jade.

" _Oh yes, I suppose that is true,"_ the bespectacled young woman said, clearing her throat slightly, to which Jaune laughed.

"I don't know whether to thank the Brothers for you or curse them," he said.

" _The Brothers? Since when did our baby brother become religious?"_ Azure asked. "Since I met one of them" would've been the answer, but Jaune doubted his sisters (all of whom were either agnostics or atheists) would take it well. Once again, he glanced to the side, expecting some more over spoken snark from Darkness. But he was nowhere to be seen, and hadn't been since he disappeared before Pyrrha's fight with Penny. And now…

" _What're you looking at?"_ Violet asked.

"Oh, nothing," Jaune lied, before continuing, "But… just tell Mom and Dad I'm sorry."

" _You know neither of them are going to accept that,"_ Violet said _, "They're already more than a little peeved about what happened when you ran off to Beacon like that."_

" _Can you at least_ try _and make it to the next family get together?"_ Vermillion asked _, "Mom's throwing it in Argus."_

"Really? I bet Terra was thrilled to hear that."

" _Yeah, well, I've got three kids who really ant to see their uncle,"_ Vermillion then added _, "You absolutely sure you can't come to visit?"_

"I'll…. see what I can do," Jaune said, lying again, "But I have to do this."

" _I just don't see why,"_ Aoki said.

"I made a promise," Jaune said, "And you guys know the family rule, right?" That actually got the six to shut up.

" _An Arc never breaks their promise,"_ Jade said.

"I just want you all to know, I love you all," he eventually said, smiling at the screen. That seemed to surprise the six, who looked at him for a time.

" _Don't get all mushy on us, Jaune,"_ Azure said, sticking her tongue out at him, only for her to get shoved aside by Violet, who smiled at Jaune.

" _On behalf on all of us, including Saphron,"_ she said _, "We love you too."_

" _You take care of yourself out there, little brother"_ Vermillion said _, "Make an Arc promise."_

"Consider it made."

 **(at the Xiao-Long house)**

Ruby slowly shut the door, before she took a breath. That was when she heard some familiar voices.

"See! Told you this was the right place!"

"We were there when you got the directions."

"Ruby!" Said girl slowly turned to see Ren and Nora approaching, but the one Ruby focused on first was the blonde knight standing in front of them.

"Jaune," she said softly.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune answered with a gentle smile. There was a period of silence, before Ruby came towards her partner, who opened his arms, as the two embraced tightly.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said.

"I don't blame you for anything," Jaune said, as the two separated, his hands on her shoulders. Ruby tried to smile, but found she couldn't, as she hung her head. She then noticed Ren and Nora standing behind Jaune.

"Hey guys," she said softly, before asking Nora, "How's the stomach?" Nora just chuckled, as she held up her shirt, showing some healed, but still rather nasty gashes across her abdomen.

"Not so bad, I actually think these look kind of cool," she said, "Besides, how many people can say that fought a Griffin hand to hand and said they walked away from it?" Ruby herself chuckled at that.

"Well, there's always….," she trailed off. She was going to name her sister, but found herself unable to do so, as she hung her head. Jaune squeezed her shoulder, as she weakly looked back up. She then subconsciously rubbed her wrist, thus drawing attention to the scales on them.

"What the…," she muttered as she brought her hand up.

"Wait you have that too?" Jaune asked, as he took off one of his gauntlets, and showed that he had the same patch on his own wrist, "I thought it was just me."

"We… we've got them too," Nora said, as she and Ren both held up their hands, showing similar scales on their wrists.

"What's going on now?" Jaune grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"Darkness would know," Ruby answered, as it came to mind, "Has anybody seen him?" She and the others looked to Jaune, who looked confused before sighing and shaking his head.

"I… I haven't seen him anywhere since he left us that day," he answered, "I don't know where he is." Ruby opened her mouth to say that she saw him, but then closed it knowing it wouldn't add anything.

"Are you guys sure you want to come with me?" she asked, "Its a long way to Mistral."

"We know," Nora quipped, "You think Ren and I flew to Vale?" Ruby chuckled grimly at that.

"Well, you know the way better than I do," she said. With that, Nora and Ren started out, as Ruby and Jaune looked at each other. The latter put his hand on the former's shoulder, before the two struck out after them.

"We're going to need a name for our new team," Nora said.

"Well, we'll start brainstorming," Jaune said.

During this, Yang watched from the window. The blonde wanted nothing more to leap out said window, and chase after her friends and sister. But then, when she reached to touch the glass, she found herself trying to do so with her right hand. Collapsing back into her bed, she stared at the ceiling, trying to comprehend the empty feeling she know felt on her right side. She then lifted her left arm, as if to confirm she still had. As she did, she looked closely at the scales on her wrist.

" _When the first mortal came from the dust, I remember thinking 'what can they give this world that it doesn't already have'? The answer quickly made itself apparent, as they began building their castles, towers, and cities. They had so much, some they built, but most what they had been given by the Brothers."_

 **(in Vale)**

Blake stared at the silhouette of the monster atop Beacon Tower, before looking down at the streets of Vale. The Faunus knew she had to take it as a small blessing that the Grimm had been cleared out of the streets. Though while the Spirits may not have been real, she wasn't entirely sure she though she should be really be thanking the Brothers either for what happened. As she thought, she glanced at her wrist, at the black scales, before she started sprinting across the rooftops.

" _And yet, in spite of all this, they still wanted more. Be it more land, more wealth, or more food, they always wanted more. So they did something mortals came to prove remarkably apt at, they turned the power of creation to destructive purposes. The mortals began building armies, weapons of war, using the magic the Younger gave them to destroy, all because they wanted more. Perhaps they should've anticipated them rebelling against them."_

 **(on an Atlesian airship)**

Weiss watched the land of Vale turn to the northern seas from her seat on the airship, before she glanced at the imposing, mustached man sitting beside her. She glanced at her wrist, as she lifted up her sleeve slightly, to show a small patch of white scales.

" _I suppose it doesn't matter, though. Mortals are where they are because of their own faults, because of their greed. And yet they have the temerity to blame others for their problems on those around, their enemies, their friends, their very creators. As if this world belonged to them…. Tch, the arrogance. This world existed for ages before their time, and will continue to exist ages after they've returned to the dust."_

 **(on the sea)**

Pyrrha stared out the window of the ship that was taking her back to Argus from her seat. She then glanced down at her the bandaged stump that once held her leg. She tried to bury her face in her knees, but found she couldn't do it with just one knee. With that, she just hung her head and wept, not paying attention to the patch of red scales on her wrist.

" _The mortals, humans and Faunus alike, will continue do what they've always done, quail and squirm like the vermin they are, until the day comes that their time ends. And that day_ will _come, and the so-called masterpiece of the Brothers will be back where it belongs…."_

 **(on Patch)**

"… _in the dust."_

As the fourth teens made their way down the road, the God of Darkness, stood on a cliff overlooking them, his hands at his sides. There was a glow beside him, and he glanced over to see the God of Light approaching.

" **I suppose I should not be surprised,"** Darkness said **, "How much were you watching?"**

" **Everything,"** Light answered as he stood beside his brother **, "You did not intervene, though you clearly wanted to."**

" **You know what will happen if I do. I will not sentence them to the end,"** Darkness answered **, "You and I both know that Humanity has made little progress in that field."**

" **I would thought you to be satisfied with that,"** Light answered **, "And yet now you are taking steps to prevent the repeat of the doom** you **caused."** Darkness was silent, as his counterpart arched a non-existent eyebrow.

" **Brother, are you** regretting **what you did?"** Light asked. To the untrained eye, Darkness didn't seem to react to that, but Light had known his brother for eons and eons. He knew his brother's small tics.

" **To think,"** Light said with a chuckle as he looked back to the mortals **, "That being amongst the mortals would change your view in such a way."** The dark god was silent for a time.

" **I found one of the Spirits,"** Darkness finally said. That got his brother to look at him again.

" **And I saw one of your 'crowning achievements' soaring over the city,"** he responded. Darkness hands turned to fists, as the air around him rippled with energy. He then looked straight at his brother. It was then, that the God of Light noticed something. In the past, he had always been about a head taller than his dark brother. But now they were equal in height.

" **You and I need to have a** long **discussion,"** Darkness said.

" **On that, we can agree."**

 **Note: With that, Vol. 3 winds to a close. I thought Jaune needed a scene of his own to deal with the aftermath, and it gave me an opportunity to introduce Jaune's sisters (save Saphron obviously). On top of that, I find it hard to believe that his sisters** _ **wouldn't**_ **read him the riot act for going out on his own** _ **again**_ **.**

 **With that, I'll discuss some of the way this story developed.**

 **I've gotten a few bringing up that this story is too close to canon, which I will admit is certainly true. Now this essentially amounts to a matter of opinion, but this story was meant to show a different take on the canon with a different spin and details, basically asking the question "What if the God of Darkness had a greater presence in the story?" I then worked to see how to work the concept from there; Jaune was the natural choice to be the character who the beginning would center on, but as the story progressed, the other characters gradually reclaimed their positions of importance. To that end, there were details in the story that I had, or at the very least wanted to include, because they were important parts of development of rate character, and it would be interesting (for me at least) to see them reenacted. For example, how can Blake's arc in Menagerie go differently now that she can turn into a dragon? How will RNJR's journey be different? What will Pyrrha do now that she's alive, and has lost a leg? Those are the questions that the story became focused on.**

 **Incorporating the God of Darkness was one of the primary issues, considering how powerful he is. I initially thought of just making him an observer who would occasionally riff on Jaune's experiences while maybe dipping his fingers occasionally, building to a larger climax. While some may have enjoyed that for the comedic value, it was honestly boring, and just plain not much fun to write. To that end, I decided to have him fill the role of something of a watcher occasionally offering advice to Jaune as the story progressed, but that wasn't contributing much to the story, so I decided to bring more of the other characters into the fun. That incidentally lead to the creation of Dr. Shade, a physical being everyone in the story could interact with (giving him a telekinesis Semblance allowed for an occasional comedy); the inclusion of the dragons was an idea to give a major personal twist on canon, and some cool dragon actions (I won't lie, I ADORE dragons).**

 **The pairing remains undecided. I'm inclined to go with any of the five, honestly, and if people can give me solid reasons Jaune should be with** (insert name) **, I'll gladly hear them.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **A little food for thought now. I once had a reviewer in a different story (a** _ **Fairy Tail**_ **one) complaining about the story not being what he wanted, going so far as to call me a "soft-hearted fool". When I asked why I had to write something** _ **he**_ **wanted, he said I was under an obligation to write what the readers wanted; leaving out he was the only one who vocalized the details he wanted, there is a very base issue with this: I have no idea what the readers really want. I'm reminded of something Stan Lee once said about writing in Marvel, bringing up that since he and his coworkers rarely had any real idea what their readers wanted or liked, so they would write stories** _ **they**_ **liked, instead of stressing over pleasing specific people, let alone everyone. Going into a new story wanting a specific thing, and then being upset when you don't get it is both childish, and selfish.**

 **Now I'm not accusing any of my readers of that at all, but its actually something that came to mind reading another story and its reviews. Just something for any reader and writer to mull in their minds.**


	35. Let's Just Live

_**Let's Just Live**_

The Land of Darkness was, as the name might imply, initially the domain of the God of Darkness. It was from the Pools of Annihilation that the first Grimm crawled, and from here they almost all crawled ever since. It was a given that no decent person would ever want to ever live there. Of course, none of the people assembled in the castle looking over the Land were at all decent.

Emerald and Mercury stared in a mixture of disturbance and disgust as the Grimm pulled themselves out of black muck, not sure what to make of the sight. They were then attracted by the sound of fingers snapping, which brought them back over to Cinder, who was sitting a large table. She looked noticeably different than she did a year ago. Her hair was shorter and she now wore a red dress with only one sleeve, with her left arm concealed by a glove. But the greatest difference as the mask that covered almost the entire left half of her face, courtesy of her clash with Pyrrha.

In addition to Cinder, there were seven other figures seated at the table. One was a middle aged man with a slim build, lightly tanned skin and short black hair with a thick mustache messing with his scroll. Another as a pale man with gold eyes and a brown ponytail that resembled a scorpion's tail wearing a white sleeveless jacket with white pants, squatting in his chair. A third was practical mountain of a man with short brown hair, a beard, and hazel eyes which were closed.

A fourth was a towering figure, even taller than the previous man, wearing a cloak and hood with a titanium helmet covering his face that had glowing green markings that resembled eyes and a mouth. Another was a Faunus woman with white hair pinned into a bun with a pair of sticks, pale skin, and red eyes with a snake tail coming from her back wearing a white, one piece dress. There was another Faunus woman with a pink cat tail, straight pink hair wearing a dark purple turtleneck and purple leggings; her mouth was covered by a mask that had what looked like a large red smile on it. The last was a tall man wearing a black mesh outfit with shoulder pads and a leather breast plate, and a mask that had a pair of glowing orange lenses over his eyes; encircling his neck was a red line that formed an almost perfect ring.

"Good to see you're keeping them leashed," the mustached man, Arthur Watts, commented, "One must always keep their lackeys under control." Mercury shifted, but Emerald put her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, let him try," the cat Faunus, Magenta Cheshire commented, turning towards the group, "Someone has to make sure those two know their place here." Glaring, Cinder opened her mouth, but a weak rasp only came out.

"Finally, someone was able to shut her up," Watts said, "I swear, if those girls weren't our adversary, I'd be giving them a reward."

"Ah yes, the girls. When your voice returns, you must describe both girls to me," the masked man, Crane Hollow, said, "They sound like impressive quarry. I wonder what sorts of prizes they can offer…"

"You're going about this the wrong way," the pale man, Tyrian Callows, said, "You should just hunt hem down yourself and, well… they took one half of your face, right?" He then dissolved into manic cackling, which earned the annoyance of the snake Faunus.

"Disgusting," Bai Suzhen said, glaring at Tyrian, "How a person like you could end up in the company…" There was the sound of a door opening, and everyone immediately silenced themselves before standing up. Right then, a figure of pure darkness walked in.

Salem was tall and slender, with skin the same color as the masks of Grimm, and red eyes that were simultaneously both dark and glowing. Her skin was coated with red veins and her hair was tied into a large bun with six offshoots tipped with beads. She didn't so much "walk" as she seemed to "glide" across the floor, as if she wasn't entirely physical.

"I would ask that all of you refrain from such behavior," Salem said as she took her seat at the head of the table, "It will not do for us to quarrel over such… petty matters."

"Of course, Ma'am," Watts said, "Its just, Cinder's failure…"

"And of what failure do you speak?" Salem inquired, "Cinder is now our Fall Maiden, brought down Beacon Tower, and most importantly, killed Ozpin."

"Well…," that gave Watts some real pause, before continuing, "There's still the matter of those dragons sited in Vale." At that both Cinder and her followers visibly tensed up.

"To think, true dragons," Crane muttered, rubbing his chin, "Incredibly to think… "

"That such creatures would exist in Remnant," the large bearded man, Hazel Rainhart, said. Salem folded her hands, and was silent for a time, apparently considering the matter.

"There has been no siting of those beasts since the Fall of Beacon," she said, "For the time being, they are no concern."

"Ma'am," Crane said, "If I may…"

"You may not," Salem interjected, "We cannot dwell on matters like these when we must move on to other matters."

"Of course, Your Grace," Crane said, "Forgive me."

"Very well then, Talos," Salem said. The cloaked figure, Talos, looked at her.

"Get into position, and await my instructions."

"Copy," Talos said, speaking for the first time, his voice sounding metallic.

"I will relay that information to you when I know it myself," Salem answered, "And on that note… Tyrian."

"Yes, Your Grace?" Tyrian responded eagerly.

"Adam Taurus' White Fang has proven quite useful in their efforts. See to it that Sienna Khan is just as obliging."

"And if she's not?" Tyrian asked, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"You are not to kill her, if that is what you are insinuating," Salem answered, to which Tyrian slouched slightly, "But… do what you must." Tyrian still looked disappointed, but grinned slightly as he thought about it.

"Hazel." Said man glanced up.

"Continue your search for the Spring Maiden," Salem said, "She's on Anima, we just need to find where."

"Of course," Hazel said stiffly.

"Bai." The Faunus looked up.

"I want you in place as well, ready to act the moment I give you the word."

"If you wish," Bai said, "I can do the job immediatly, once I arrive. They would never see me coming."

"We cannot act too early," Salem said, "Everything must be coordinated, to ensure the plan succeeds." The snake just nodded.

"Crane, Magenta," she then called. The masked man and the cat Faunus glanced up.

"I want you both to remain here, the moment we get a lead on the remaining Maidens, I want both of you to start searching." Magenta Cheshire just nodded

"Your Grace," Crane Hollow said, "If I may offer a suggestion, perhaps I can search for the silver eyed girl Cinder told us about. Surely they are the reason the Wyvern was returned to dormancy." The mention of the silver eyed one earned some exchanged glances from the rest of the group.

"That will not be necessary," Watts said, "I have already hired one of the best teams on Remnant to track them down."

"Oh, then truly all is well," Crane said sarcastically.

"Do you doubt those I paid good money for?" Watts inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"Forgive me if I have doubts about mercenaries," Crane countered.

"Enough," Salem said, silencing both of them, "Watts, I would've preferred if you had run the matter by me before finalizing it." Watts averted his eyes.

"But can you vouch for the ability of these mercenaries?" the witch inquired, checking her nails, "….DRKE I believe they were called."

"Absolutely."

"Then I will allow it for the time," Salem said, "It will give us more time to address our own matters. In the mean time, Watts, I want you to go to Haven. Make sure things are… ready when the time comes."

"That, I can certainly do." Cinder let out a soft hiss, indicating to Emerald to bend down, as she whispered something in her ear.

"Um…" She didn't finish as Salem turned her glance to her.

"Do you have something to say, child?" the witch inquired, leaning on her hand.

"Its… just…," Emerald forced out, "What about Cinder?" Salem immediately started ignoring Emerald, as she looked to Cinder.

"You will remain with me," she said, "We must continue your… education."

"Oh, such a shame," Tyrian said, " I guess you won't be getting your payback anytime soon." As he resumed cackling, Cinder just grit her teeth.

 **(somewhere on Anima)**

Anima may not have been the largest continent (that honor went Sanus), but the Empire of Mistral was the largest kingdom. To that end, the country consisted of a wide variety of environments ranging from swamps, to steppe to mountains. Of course, that made it also the least densely populated of the kingdoms.

"How many times do I have to tell you? What you're doing doesn't count as 'flying'!" Nora insisted. Her hair was slightly longer, now reaching her shoulders, and she wore a jacket over her outfit. Her gloves, while still mostly the same, now reached her elbows.

"I really don't see why," Ren said. His hair was now down, and was now eating a sleeveless tailcoat over a black turtleneck. He had sleeves that covered his arms up to his upper arms.

"'Flying' involves wings," Nora answered, "You're just… I don't know, swimming through air!"

"Can you guys please debate it later?" The two looked up to see Jaune hiding behind a root.

"We gotta focus!" Jaune insisted, as he turned his attention back to the area in front of him, "She'll be back any minute now!" He then paused and thought.

"And by the way, Nora's right," he said, "Flying's not really flying without wings."

"Thank you!" Nora said. Right after she said that, there was a slight rumble.

"Finally," the orange haired girl said with a grin, as she brought out Magnhild, "Took her long enough!" The three were silent, before a familiar screaming was heard.

"Well, here we go," Jaune said. With that, one Ruby Rose exploded from the trees into a clearing.

"Incoming!" she cried before she stumbled head over heels. She now had a white, high-neck blouse with brown studded wristbands. She still had her skirt and cape, though the cape was slightly tattered. But as the girl got back to her feet, her pursuant burst from the trees; it was a Nariphon.

A Nariphon was an exceptionally tall kind of Grimm that bore a resemblance to a humanoid tree; its body seemed to be made of black wood, with red roots occasionally crossing through it. The Grimm mask that made up its face was vaguely humanoid, and a series of whit branches came from the top of its head. It let out a vicious shriek as it launched its three fingered hand at Ruby.

The girl managed to dodge without issue, as she fired a few rounds into the Grimm, but its massive body managed to absorb the blows. From its body burst several red tendrils which shot at Ruby. She managed to cut down most of them, but found herself getting swatted away by the Nariphon's hand. Fortunately for her, her Aura absorbed the worst of the strike.

"I'm okay!" she piped up, holding up her hand. Before the Nariphon could pursue her further, it started being pelted by pink grenades from Nora.

"Leave Ruby alone you overgrown weed!" she shouted. That got the Grimm's attention, as with a growl, it started lumbering in Nora's direction. However, it got promptly sideswiped by Ren across its cheek. That got it to visibly flinch, which didn't go unnoticed by Jaune, who was behind a tree.

The Nariphon turned to Ren, as it held up its hand, from which several vines shot out. Ren managed to cut most of them away, but one got throw, and wrapped around his waist. Fortunately, it as quickly cut by Ruby. The Nariphon, as if getting frustrated, let out anotherr shriek, before it drove its foot into the ground. Multiple vines emerged from the ground, wreathing like snakes. Jaune let out a yelp as he jumped out of the way of one, only for another to appear right beneath his feet, sending him tumbling away.

"'Don't bring a weapon' they said," Jaune moaned into the dirt, once he stopped, "'You're the idea guy' they said. Jerks!"

"Jaune!" Ruby called as she used her Semblance to jet over to her partner, "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to be coughing up dirt for a while, but otherwise fine," Jaune answered as he pulled himself to his feet, as he looked up at the Grimm. Nora was still peppering it with grenades, while Ren was launching small strikes across it. Both of them were restricted to the ground with the Nariphon's vines writing on the ground.

"We need to to it harder!" Jaune declared. That earned a weird glance from his partner.

"Let me rephrase that, we need to bring it down to our level," he explained, "Need to hit in the face!"

"So attack its legs?" Ruby asked, and when Jaune confirmed, she asked, "How do we do that with all those vines?"

"If there's anyone who can do it, its you three," Jaune said, "I'll… stay out of the way." With that, he fell back. Ruby shook her head as she smiled. She then used her Semblance to get into the trees next to Nora.

"What's the plan?" the orange-haired girl asked.

"We take out its legs!" Ruby said, before grinning at her teammate, "So… shall we?"

"Don't have to ask twice!" Nora said, as the two fist bumped. With that, Ruby dove down, using her Semblance to zoom by, shifting out just in time to fire a dust bullet at the Nariphon's face. While it didn't do much real damage, it got its attention. It howled as its vines grabbed at Ruby who used her Semblance again to get back out of range. The Grimm moved to follow, only to find Ren on its back. The green-clad teen fired his bullets at point blank range, as the Grimm shrieked again, and started reaching back to grab at him. Ren then slid down with StormFlower, before leaping out of harm's way just before the Nariphon could stomp down on him.

"Keep your vines off my Ren!" Nora said as she fired more grenades, earning the beast's attention. It started lumbering in Nora's direction, giving Ruby a chance to take aim, and fire another Dust bullet. It completely missed the Grimm, and struck Nora. Of course, it was a lighting Dust bullet…

The Nariphon turned its attention back to Ruby, who was running down the way, before activating her Semblance yet again to dodge the vines, and go up the tree. For an instant, she phased out, and joined hands with Nora. She then activated again, as her Aura linked with Nora's, as the turned into a red and pink swirl of petals and electricity. They aimed for its leg, before with one clear strike, smashed it. The Grimm let out a whole, as it fell to one knee.

"Nora!" Jaune called, "NOW!" With an eager cry, Nora freed herself from Ruby, brought the hammer down onto the Nariphon's face….

 **(in a nearby village)**

"Again, its really nothing, we're just doing our job," Ruby said.

"But you've done so much, and are asking so little," the chieftain of the village they were visiting responded, "That Nariphon was proving a serious problem."

Team RNJR, as the makeshift team was now calling itself, had made a pitstop in a village when they heard of the Grimm that set up shop on the village outskirts. Now that it was done, the village was eager to offer their gratitude, but on Ruby's insistence, they weren't going to accept any money.

"For those outside the cities, huntsmen are invaluable," the chieftain continued, "Unfortunately, most of them charge rather high prices for their services."

"We're just glad to help," Ren said with a smile.

"Are you sure there's nothing more we can do for you?" the chieftain asked.

"Just point us in the direction of the capital," Jaune answered. After getting set on the right direction, Team RJNR struck out again.

"So we've still got a way's to go," Jaune said, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, we're closer than we were yesterday," Ruby offered.

"Gah!" Nora suddenly whined, as she pulled the glove off, "These scales still itch!" The patch of scales that had originally just been on her wrist, but it had since spread all the way to near her elbow, though they still had yet to reach her hands.

"Mine itch a little too," Jaune said as he rubbed his own arm. His scales had spread too, as had those of Ruby and Ren; they had tried to find a reason, but really had no idea what to expect. Of course the god who had been advising them hadn't been seen since they were at Beacon, so it wasn't like they could just ask him. So they tried to think of other things…

"Hey Ruby!" Nora said, "Does Ren's swimming through air count as flying?"

 _World of Remnant: Dust_

" _Dust", an interesting, if not fitting name for the substance the mortals have used. From what I can ascertain, they are crystals that possess properties not unlike that of magic. They come in eight different forms: fire, ice, wind, electricity, water, plant, rock, and gravity, all of which must be mined from existing quarries._

 _As to their exact origin and nature, I have found in my studies that they are essentially concentrated ingots of magic, a remnant of the gift my brother gave to them in the time before. Perhaps my brother could not truly bring himself to truly take it all away from the mortals. Well at any rate, I suppose it goes without saying that its existence has proven imperative to their survival since the end. Without it, the spawn of my brother would have overrun them ages ago._

 _The mining of Dust appears to be a hazardous process, that can and will cause fatalities if handled improperly. So much as dropping some could potentially cause a chain reaction that could bring an entire mine down around ones heads. To that end, I suppose I cannot begrudge the humans for their reluctance to mine it themselves. Not that this excuses their actions against the Faunus that now exist alongside them. But unlike the mortals, I can acknowledge a very simple truth: the Faunus would have done the same thing i they were in the position to do so._

 _I suppose it is irrelevant in the end, mortals have never been ones to dwell on hindsight or perspective. But I cannot begrudge them for their flaws; what is an artist who cannot acknowledge the fault in his piece?_

 **Note: Its been snowing like hell where I'm stationed, so our base has been closed. Not much for me to really do off duty, honestly, except this. This chapter was to help set up what's going on, much like the first episode, so I more or less followed that story, albeit with my own inclusions, such as the introduction of the OCs, and the new kind of Grimm with an altered fight.**

 **I said I'd be including some OCs in the story. Talos, Bai Suzhen, Magenta Cheshire, and Crane Hollow are some of those OCs. All of them are based on the story themes, some probably more apparent than others. There will be more, and most of them will be antagonists.**

 **For those who don't know (which I imagine is a number of people), a Nariphon is a tree in Buddhist folklore that bears fruit shaped like women. Basically, think Groot if he was a Grimm. You'll notice they didn't use their dragon powers during the battle, though I imagine they'd be very useful.**

 **To clarify, the World of Remnant is being narrated by the God of Light, not Darkness. I originally was going to do one about Remnant proper or humanity, but thought it would be more appropriate to be done such concepts the story proper.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	36. Crippled

_**Crippled**_

Pyrrha was born in the city of Mistral, but when she was two, her parents moved to Argus. That was where she grew up and trained, and when she won the tournament, she became an icon for the entire Empire. One would find it quite hard to find a person in Mistral who didn't know her name. So anybody would be rather taken aback when they saw the Champion limping through an Argus grocery store with a pair crutches in her cart with only one leg.

Pyrrha was wearing a brown jacket over a bronze shirt along with blue jeans, though the one on her left was tied up where her leg was amputated. Her wavy hair was down, and her once vibrant green eyes were sullen. She was slowly pushing the cart down the aisle, using it balance while hopping forward. After giving pause to pull off a box of corn flakes, she noticed a box of Pumpkin Pete slightly further down, her picture still on it. Doing her best to ignore it, she continued lurching down the aisle.

It had been her idea to go grocery shopping, saying that she wanted to get some exercise when she could. That was the stated reason, the real reason was Pyrrha wanted to get out of the house and all the looks of pity and sympathy. Though in hindsight, going to the store may not have been the best place for that.

The teen couldn't take five "steps" without overhearing someone whispering about her, and pointing. There was one particularly pointed incident where Pyrrha passed by a cart with a child sitting in it, holding a cereal box. Once the child saw her and made the connection, Pyrrha tried to hop away as quick as she could.

Eventually, she made it down the canned foods aisle, where she again felt several eyes on her. She did her best to ignore them, though she couldn't help but wonder if they were staring at her, or her missing leg.

"Excuse me, Ms. Nikos" a voice said. Pyrrha stopped, and looked up from a can of peas to see a man in an Atlesian military uniform standing in front of her with a nervous smile.

"Yes?" Pyrrha answered after a moment.

"I was just wondering if I could get your autograph for my daughter," the man said, gesturing to a girl slightly further down the aisle, shyly trying to hide behind the cart. Not really being in a place to say "no", Pyrrha slowly took the piece of paper the soldier was holding out. She then noticed it was a small poster of her; she hoped her flinch wasn't too visible as she signed the poster.

"Thank you very much," the man said with a smile. Pyrrha glanced back at the girl, who shyly waved at her with her own smile. Pyrrha didn't return either, as she hobbled to the check out line.

Once it was done, she caught the trolley back to her neighborhood, after which she tentatively hopped off. She then limped down the street to her house. It wasn't especially large, but still descent sized, with a sizable backyard that faced North, towards the sea.

Once she arrived, Pyrrha shifted her bags and crutches in her hands, before slowly starting to ascend. However, as she was doing so, one of the crutches slipped, and with a cry, she landed flat on her face. Fortunately her Aura activated, preventing her from getting hurt, but somehow that didn't help the situation much. She lay on the steps of her house face down for a while, wallowing in her misery.

"Pyrrha!" Thetis Nikos said, as she opened the door, "Are you alright?" Pyrrha's mother looked almost exactly like her daughter, save for the shorter hair and glasses. Pyrrha looked up at her voice, quickly blinking away the tears gracing her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said, as she started gathering the scattered groceries.

"I've got it," Thetis said, "You get back inside and rest." Pyrrha was silent for a time, before nodding. Grabbing the railing, she pulled herself up, before picking her crutches back up, and hobbling into the house. The Nikos household was certainly a nice one, with a sizable living room with large furniture. It lead into the kitchen when in turn lead to the backyard.

"Welcome back, champ," her dad, Peleus Nikos, said as he looked up the TV. He had dark grey hair, and similar green eyes (quite the coincidence to marry a women with similar color eyes). He was watching the news on the big screen television.

"Hey dad," Pyrrha answered, as she passed by.

"I wasn't really watching anything in case…"

"No, its fine," Pyrrha interrupted "I'll watch in my room." She put her crutches under her arm, and grasped onto the railings as she stopped hopping up the stairs.

"Pyrrha!" Thetis called, giving the crippled champion pause, "Just so you know, Dana's been calling." That caused Pyrrha to grip the railings a little harder.

"She… may try calling you next," Thetis added, "Just in case…" Pyrrha was silent for a time, before she kept hobbling up the stairs.

As girls' rooms went, this one was pretty bare. It was on the corner of the house, and consisted of plain walls with a couple of pictures; beside her bed was a desk and chair beside a window that gave Pyrrha a good look over the city. There was also a rotating chair that allowed her to look over the sea. There was a well stocked bookshelf beside the desk, but Pyrrha wasn't in the mood to read. Instead, she lowered herself onto her bed, and turned on the TV display. After flipping through the channels slightly, she came across a round table show that seemed as… time passing as the others.

" _Frankly, Vale's state is its own fault,"_ one of the panelists, a retired Atlesian officer commented _, "Their military was woefully undermanned, and they relied chiefly on their agreement with Atlas for protection."_

" _What drew the Grimm to the city wasn't the lack of military,"_ another panelist, a Vale politician, retorted _, "The Atlesian military presence put the city on edge, and need we forget that after the incident during the Festival Atlesian mechs started shooting civilians."_ Pyrrha wouldn't call what happened an "incident", but she was too tired to dwell on it.

" _Now, in Atlas' defense,"_ a third panelist, a writer from Mistral, said _, "General Ironwood and many Atlesian troops were fighting valiantly. They're actions were what saved the entire kingdom from the Grimm."_

" _I put more credit on the young huntsman and huntresses at Beacon who put tier lives on the line to help evacuate,"_ a fourth panelist, a wolf Faunus, said _, "And of course we can't forget the dragons."_ Pyrrha's phantom pain kicked slightly, as she rubbed her stump.

" _Ah yes, and about those dragons,"_ the Mistrali panelist said _, "Where could they could have come from?"_

" _I believe they are spirits made manifest,"_ the Faunus panelist said _, "Summoned by the despair, and coming to their aid. Human or Faunus, they make no distinction between innocents."_

" _Come now,"_ the Atlesian said _, "Surely there must be a more logical reason."_

" _You know, there are legends of the Brothers appearing to their followers as dragons,"_ the Vale panelist said _, "Perhaps…"_ Pyrrha had to turn it off then, as her phantom pain shot through her stump again. She kept massaging it, as she cringed at the ceiling. Eventually, it started to recede, but then things got worse.

Her Scroll started ringing, and when she checked the caller ID, she winced, recognizing the name. Figuring if she answered now it might avoid further conversations, Pyrrha reluctantly answered the call.

"Hello, Dana," Pyrrha said, as a face appeared on the screen.

" _Pyrrha, my girl! I've been trying to get into contact with you for days now!"_ Dana Mite was Pyrrha's agent, who had been working with her ever since she won the tournament and became an essential celebrity. She was a damselfly Faunus whose animal trait was a pair of damselfly wings on her back that allowed her to fly over a brief distance.

" _Its floating over the Net that about how you were seen in the grocery store doing some shopping,"_ Dana said, with a grin about as sincere as that of a Suchos (a kind of Grimm that resembled a crocodile).

"Yes, what of it?" Pyrrha asked, frowning.

" _Well,"_ Dana answered, as her wings fluttered behind her in apparent anticipation _, "It got me thinking of a new idea, let me run it by you."_

"Please don't."

" _A charity where all proceeds go straight to Vale,"_ Dana said, spread her hands and wings _, " And whose face on it, the one and only champion who herself fought valiantly there, sacrificing her own limb in the process. The Pyrrha Nikos Foundation!"_ At the surface, that sounded good, like charities were, but knowing her agent, Pyrrha had a feeling there was something more to it.

"And?"

" _And?"_ the Faunus asked _, "What more is needed? It'll put you back into the public light. Talk shows will want you on their stage to talk about it. A little more, and you could maybe start your own TV show!"_

"Dana…"

" _I'm seeing it now, a show about huntsman, hosted by a veteran huntress who interviews other veterans."_

"Dana…"

" _Of course, we will have to find ones who don't upstage you, maybe…"_

"DANA!" That finally got the Faunus to stop talking.

"I'm actually kind of tired right now," Pyrrha said, "Can we maybe talk about this later?"

" _Oh yes, dear,"_ Dana said, smiling again _, "How's tomorrow at the park sound?"_

"Uh…"

" _Great, see you there!"_ With that, Dana hung up. With a sigh, Pyrrha fell face down on her bed. It had been a long day of being crippled, she deserved to wallow a little in her self pity.

She did exactly that for what felt like an hour, but when she finally go tup and checked the time, she saw it had only been ten minutes. Pyrrha groaned, as she turned over to face the ceiling. As she did, an itching sensation came over her arm. She pulled up her sleeve to look at the bronze-tinted red scales going up her arm to her elbow.

She had noticed them gradually climbing up her arm since the Fall of Beacon, but she hadn't given it much thought. Pyrrha would've asked Darkness, but he had disappeared to who knew where, and honestly, she didn't really care. All that mattered, was that he wasn't here anymore.

"Pyrrha!" she suddenly heard her mother call, "Come down and help me make dinner!" Upon hearing that, Pyrrha sighed, as she slowly heaved herself back up. Maybe this could take her mind off the scales. She stopped bothering with trying to take her mind off her missing limb.

 _World of Remnant: Auras and Semblances_

 _Dust was not the only remnant of magic left in the world when we left. Rather, the Semblances and Auras are themselves remnants of magic (hence their name). It manifests in different forms depending on the person, and no two Semblances are exactly alike. During our time, the powers they call Semblances could conceivably used by anybody, but of course that is not the case anymore. But there are differences: mastering magic required discipline and training, and while mastering Semblances also requires training, some rely on a lack of discipline. A flaw in their Semblances if ever there was one._

 _The Semblances are intrinsically connected with the Aura of a person. Now, Auras I have always known about, it is the spark my brother and I gave them when we first pulled them from the dust. It is from that pool of energy that humanity as able to perform magic, so it would make sense that they draw their Semblances from the same source. The Auras can also allow them to heal minor wounds, and grant them base shields from where they can repel all but the worst of attacks._

 _I suppose I should applaud the mortals for their ability to rebuild after facing devastation at my brother's claw, and how they were able to adapt to the situation. But it is still not as much as they could be. It never is…_

 **Note: So I guess you could say Pyrrha's room was rather, spartan. Eh? Eh? At any rate, she's not doing well adjusting, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could adjust that well at this time.**

 **A much shorter chapter this time, mostly to see what Pyrrha's doing. Dana's another OC of course, and there will probably more to come for Pyrrha, seeing as she dies before her other relationships can be dived into. Of course, I'm using the mysterious red head woman from Vol. 6 as her mother. If one doesn't know, Thetis and Peleus were the parents of Achilles, so that was obvious.**

 **Props on the reviewers managing to guess who Salem's new associates are based off, so I'll confirm that Magenta Cheshire is the Cheshire Cat (duh), Crane Hollow is based on the Headless Horseman (I guess the name makes it kind of obvious), and Bai Suzhen is based on the Chinese folktale "Legend of the White Snake". I won't say who Talos is based on, though, since there's potential spoilers in that.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	37. Team DRKE

_**Team DRKE**_

Ruby woke up with a gasp, once again only feeling slightly rested. On reflex immediately glanced over, to make sure her partner was still at camp. Once seeing him, she let out a sigh of relief, as she rose to her feet, glancing at the sky, as she saw the sun starting to peak from the horizon.

"Jaune," she called softly, as she went over to him, shaking him slightly. Jane stirred, but didn't wake up.

"No… No Milly," he muttered in his sleep, "I don't wanna wear the dress." Ruby chuckled at that, before shaking him slightly more.

"Come on," she said, "Its time to go." Jaune finally woke up, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm up," he said, "I'm up." After waking up Nora and Ren, RNJR struck out again. They had a map that was proving useful… for about three miles.

"Its official," Ruby said, "We're…"

"Stop!" Jaune suddenly said, "Don't say it!"

"What?"

"We're not lost!" Ruby just sighed, as she shook her head slightly.

"Ruby, let me tell you something about men," Nora said, coming to stand next to her, "That stereotype about them not asking for directions, is completely true."

"Not its not!" Jaune insisted.

"It kind of is," Ren commented from the back.

"I'll have you know, I've been this way before many times," Jaune insisted, "My family would often visit this area to camp. We're nearing Shion."

"Oh yeah," Ruby said, "How many sisters do you have?"

"Seven, all older than me," Jaune admitted sheepishly. Ruby laughed at that slightly, trying to imagine what that would be like, especially if she were the only boy in the family.

"Well, you haven't steered us wrong, yet," she said, patting Jaune on the back. They may have been going slow, but at least Team RNJR had been making…. progress. Right?

When first striking out from Patch, they first caught a boat that would take them to Anima; actually that wasn't entirely true, they _stowed away_ on a boat. They had gotten a descent distance before the captain found them; fortunately (at least for them) a pack of Shayu (shark-like Grimm that dwelt in the northern oceans of Remnant) attacked the boat, which RNJR managed to all slay. In gratitude, the captain took them to the nearest port in Mistral, but it was still a good distance from the capital. That meant walking, _a lot_ of walking.

They mostly subsisted on the supplies they brought with them, and the gratitude of the villages they helped save from Grimm. They had found that surprisingly easy, considering how many villages there were without actual huntsmen around to deal with Grimm. They could've gotten more from them, but Ruby insisted they do it all for free; these people had enough problems already, huntsmen draining their funds wasn't another they needed.

"You know, I was thinking," Ren said, "I'm surprised we haven't seen more Grimm since we started."

"Yeah, almost as if they're steering clear of us," Nora commented.

"That's not very much like the Grimm," Jaune said. Ruby nodded, before some movement caught her eye. She glanced up to see a crow flying over head.

 **(elsewhere in the forest)**

Due to the fact that Grimm disintegrated upon death, there often wasn't much evidence of a fight with one of them. That is, unless the Grimm was quite large, and Nariphon could get _very_ large. To that end, the area was litterd with downed trees knocked over in the fight, and deep ditches from where the Nariphon sprouted its tendrils.

A hand ran its self along one of the downed trees. It was attached to a young woman with with long, bright green hair tied back with one green eye, and one golden eye, which had a scar going through it. She was dressed in a light green combat shorts with a green vest over bandages. She narrowed her eyes, before getting to her feet, and checking the footprints.

She was suddenly alerted when she heard steps approaching. The woman stood up straight, as she suddenly drew her weapon, which was a long, collapsable bow, and notched an arrow with a red tip.

"Relax, its just us," a woman said as she emerged from the trees, holding up her hands. She had a bob dark blue hair with light brown skin and was wearing a dark hood and cloak over a light blue turtleneck and loose fitting pants of a similar color. On her back was a staff that looked like gnarled wood tipped with a deep blue gem, and blue tendrils descended from it across the staff. The girl glared at them, as she bow collapsed, and she put it on her back.

 _Don't sneak up on me like that_ , she "said", though she did it in sign language.

"Gods, girl," a man commented as he came up behind the woman in blue, "You went to your weapon far too quickly." He was quite short, and had prominent, deep gray mutton chops, and neatly combed, dark gray hair. He was wearing a steel breastplate along with steel leggings and gauntlets. On his hips were what looked like two single bladed axes.

"Calm down, Krieg," the woman, Rina Azul said, putting her hand on his shoulder, before turning to the other, "What's the report, Eve?"

 _There was a fight here,_ Eve Leaf signed, _Certainly a Grimm._

"Is that so?" Krieg Steele grumbled, "You want to tell us its in a forest too?"

 _I would guess it was a Nariphon_ , Eve added, ignoring her teammate's jab.

"That would make sense," Rina said, "I've heard tell of sightings of one in the area."

"They probably slew it for the village nearby," Krieg said.

"We should make our way over there then," Rina said, "They probably have an idea where they're headed." Before anybody could respond, they all noticed some smoke appear on the horizon.

"It seems our fearless leader is a few steps ahead of us," Krieg commented, with a slight smirk.

 **(at the village)**

"Please!" the village chieftain forced out, "I've.. I've told you everything I know…"

"Really?" Drago asked, "Because I think you're holding out on me still?" The leader of Team DRKE, Drago Blaze was a lizard Faunus, whose animal trait was a long, red-scaled tail, which was currently constricting the chieftain's neck. His eyes were a blazing orange, and his head was cleanly shaven, and covered with red flame tattoos. He was wearing a red trenchant over an orange shirt with red pants with orange flame patterns on the cuffs. He was seated on a large rock, while holding the chieftain in the air by the throat with his tail.

All around him the village was on fire. People were trying desperately to save what they had from the fire, but most were simply running away.

"You know," Drago said, looking around his handiwork, as he picked up a rock and fiddled with it slightly, "none of this is personal. I'm only after the kids who came through here."

"Th… they let the village a couple days ago!" the chieftain said, before pointing, "That way!" Drago glanced in the direction he was pointing, narrowing his eyes.

"And you're certain that that's where they were going?" he inquired, as he tossed the rock to himself.

"Y…yes…," the chieftain choked out, "That's the closest direction to Mistral. I'm _(cough)_ telling the truth." Drago looked at him for a time.

"You know what'll happen if you're lying, right?" he asked. The chieftain just nodded before Drago's keen hearing caught he sound of steps coming his way. He glanced over to see his team approaching him.

"Damn," Krieg grumbled, "You really did a number on this place?"

 _Did you have to burn the whole place down?_ Eve signed.

"They were _very_ grateful to them," Drago answered, as he tossed the chieftain away, and threw the rock over his shoulder, "Don't worry, I didn't actually kill anyone."

 _Really?_ Eve signed with a skeptical look.

"Well, I tried," Drago said with a shrug.

"We need to get out of here," Krieg said, "This place'll be crawling with Grimm soon." Eve walked over to the path, as she fell to one knee. Her green eye then lit up, as she scanned the area.

 _I have the trail_ , she signed _This way._

"And I've got their final destination," Drago added, before jerking his head, "Let's get out of here" With that, Team DRKE all struck out in the appropriate direction, leaving the burning village behind them.

"We should exercise some caution," Rina said, "Bringing down a Nariphon is no small feat."

"Any Grimm can be taken down if one knows how," Krieg said, "That doesn't make these kids experts."

"Just focus on getting paid," Drago said, "We were offered one billion lien for each kid we killed."

 _That's enough to set us for life_ , Eve signed.

"Exactly," Drago said with a nod, "All the more reason to get this done."

 _ **(/)**_

 _She was flying…_

 _Never had she felt so free than the first time she truly flew. There was nothing she couldn't do, nowhere she couldn't go, no enemy she couldn't burn. But things were different now…_

 _It seemed the entire world was on fire as black masses darted through the flames. She tried to get a lock on them, but found them all too fast to do so._

 _She then paused as she sensed a presence. Glancing behind her, she noticed a towering figure with glowing red markings on its face. On reflex, she inhaled, and tried to breath fire, but found nothing coming out. The being then drew a blade that glowed a sinister red._

 _She tried to fly away, but she noticed something: she was shrinking. Almost instantly, she wasn't a dragon, but a snake…. a limbless, lowly snake… And she could only watch as the shape held up the blade, and brought it down on her head…_

 _ **(/)**_

Yang let out a gasp, as she sat up. After catching her breath, she tried to rub her forehead, but she ended up trying it with a missing hand. Groaning, and now unable to sleep, she pulled herself out of bed, hoping she could clear her head for the time. As she did, she noticed the sound of talking coming from downstairs. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she headed down the stairs to see who it was.

She noticed the kitchen light on, and the voices coming from there. One of them was her father's voice, and one that sounded… familiar.

"Dad?" she called as she entered the kitchen.

"Yang!" Tai said, as he looked up to see his daughter walking in, "What're you doing awake?"

"I couldn't…." Yang didn't finish, as she saw who her father was talking, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Good evening, Ms. Xiao Long," Dr. Shade said.

 _World of Remnant: The Republic of Vale_

 _Of the five nation states that exist on this world, only one is a true democracy, something that does not surprise me, considering that mortals have never been suited for such systems of government._

 _Initially, Vale was a monarchy, ruled by a king. But after the Great War, the last king's final decree was to abolish the monarchy, declaring that the old system had brought the country nothing but misfortune. He personally helped to form the first High Council, though he himself refused to take a seat. He did, however, appoint the first Headmaster of Beacon Academy, who was granted a seat on the Council._

 _The governing body of the Republic is the Vale High Council, consisting of elected representatives from the various provinces. The representatives in turn elect the four High Councilors, who vote on matters of state. These Councilors consist of the following individuals: the Head of Defensive Affairs, the Head of Foreign Affairs, the Head of Financial Affairs, and the Head of Internal Affairs. The High Councilors select the Headmaster of Beacon, who holds the fifth seat on the Council. Though the High Council holds most of the power, various matters require the agreement of the Council of Representatives. These include matters such as the right to declare war or passing new laws._

 _Presenting itself as a peace maker, Vale has a small military, primarily used for the bases of defenses. To that end, they rely greatly on the agreements they have with other countries, especially Atlas. They will also often arbitrate conflicts between other kingdoms. Considering there has been no real war since the Great War, I suppose they have succeeded in that matter. I will grant the mortals this: as great a talent they have for making problems, they have a somewhat lesser talent of forming solutions._

 **Note: More OCs appear in this chapter, the aforementioned Team DRKE (pronounced "drake"). To suit the theme of the series, I based them all on various fantasy archetypes: Drago is (obviously) based on dragons, Rina is based on wizards, Krieg is based on dwarves, and Eve on elves.**

 **I debated the course of the action for this adaptation to take. Of the four storylines in Vol. 4, only Ruby's really has a lot going on while Blake's story starts advancing in the volume's second act, and actually kicks off in the third. Yang and Weiss in particular are challenges because their stories are chiefly stationary, and mostly deal with their personal problems; for a little perspective, the closest thing either storyline gets to "action" is Weiss' stunt at the party. I do have an idea on how to keep them involved, but bare in mind, this adaptation of Vol. 4 will chiefly focus on RNJR, and we'll only occasionally visit Pyrrha, Yang, Blake, and Weiss. Just so we all know going into this. Pyrrha will take the priority, because obviously this is completely new for her.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **A little advice regarding Vol. 7, which was released today for RT subscribes (like myself). I won't tell you what happens obviously, but I will give a warning that something big does occur in the first episode, which could potentially be spoiled if RT decides to release the intro early. To that end, I highly recommend not watching the intro.**


	38. Homecoming

_**Homecoming**_

"Missing limb not withstanding, I assume your well," Shade inquired, arching an eyebrow. Yang almost couldn't believe he was standing in front of her. He wasn't wearing his suit or coat. Instead he was wearing a purple muscle shirt with purple shorts, like was planning on working out after this.

"D… Doctor Shade?" Yang asked slowly.

"Missing limb not withstanding, you appear to be doing well," Shade commented. _Well that was sensitive?_ Yang thought to him, but received no response.

"I… I guess I'm doing good as can be," Yang said, as she lifted herself onto the counter, "What're you doing here?"

"After the Fall of Beacon, I was curious as to what happened to you," Shade answered.

"Really?" Yang.

"Yes, it is that simple." Yang frowned at him for that.

 _You sure as hell didn't seem to care about us at Beacon_ , she said. However, she got no response.

 _Do you at least know where Ruby is?_ she asked. Once again, she got no response.

"Now, Mr. Xiao Long, please continue your story," Shade said, turning his attention back to her father.

"Oh yeah!" Tai said, as he smiled, "So, Qrow had no idea what a 'kilt' really was, so he completely bought it when I told him that was what the uniform was. So, when he walked into class of rate first day, in the girl's uniform, imagine the look on his and everyone's face?"

"I noticed you used the word 'so', a lot," Shade commented, cocking his head. Yang would've laughed at that; it would totally be like him to take that away from the talk.

"Raven of course never let it down," Tai continued, either not noticing or not caring about Shade's comment, "You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't crack up whenever it came up." He then trailed off slightly.

"Save for Summer," he said, "She always said it wasn't funny to pick on him like that." Yang involuntarily tensed up at the mention of her step-mother.

"Summer Rose," Shade murmured, "The mother of Ms. Ruby Rose, yes?"

"How did you know about her?" Yang asked. Actually she knew the answer (finding out information like that was probably easy for Shade), but it wasn't like that was a reason she could give to her father.

"I have my ways," Shade answered, which seemed to be acceptable to Tai. Yang hoped that Shade wasn't putt thoughts in her father's mind.

"We could always count on her to be the nice one," Tai said, folding his arms, as he looked up at the ceiling, "It was just in her nature."

"I am sure she was," Shade answered with a slightly nod. Either picking up on the air of the room, or no longer interested in the topic (Yang imagined it was the latter), he changed the subject.

"Your father tells me you recently received a prosthetic limb," the Faunus continued, looking towards Yang, "And yet you are not wearing it? Why?" Yang opened her mouth, then closed it.

"I'm, not sure," she said, "I guess I just don't know about it."

"And why not?" Tai said, "It might help get things back to normal."

"This _is_ normal, now," Yang said, holding up her stump.

"'Normalcy' is a supremely subjective concept," Shade said, "It is changing constantly depending on the circumstances. You can and should make your own normal based on what you have now."

"It is not that easy," Yang said.

"It may be simpler than you think."

"You don't understand!" Yang suddenly snapped, "I lost an arm! I lost a piece of myself! What would you know about any of that?!"

"Yang!" Tai scolded. Yang took a breath to try and calm down, as Shade seemed to process what she heard.

 _I'm not sorry_ , she "said".

"Ms. Nikos lost a part of herself as well," Shade said, "You should take solace in the fact that at least you can still move freely without crutches. And that you do not have to carry a reputation like the one she does, and can never live up to again." That caused Yang's breath to hitch slightly. She knew that the Fall of Beacon and cost Pyrrha a leg; for all her difficulties, at least Yang could walk around without issue.

"And do you think Pyrrha's given up like this?" Tai said, "That she's just sitting at home feeling sorry for herself? Well, I'll tell you that my sunny little dragon doesn't either." Despite herself, Yang couldn't help but chuckle at his choice of words.

 _Heh, he's got no idea about that_ , she quipped. Once again, no response.

"Regardless of how many arms you have, you're a fighter. Its always what you've been best at, " Tai said, "And I say, keeping doing what you're best at." Yang was silent, as she glanced at her stump, and then at the adults.

"I would recommend taking your father's words to heart," Shade said, as he flicked his wrist, and the door opened, "But now, I am afraid I must take my leave."

"Where're you going?" Yang tried not to demand. It was not like she didn't really expect such thing from Shade, but that didn't mean she liked it.

"Somewhere else," was all Shade answered with as he stepped out of their house, closing the door behind him, leaving Yang to ponder what she heard from him.

"He's an… odd fellow," Tai said, "What can you tell me about him?"

"Not much honestly," Yang said. That was technically a half-truth; she couldn't tell him the truth, but that was in part because aside from the "big news" about him, there wasn't much Yang really knew about him.

"I'm going back to bed," Yang said. As she started hiking up the stairs, she flexed her arm. She had forgotten to ask about the scales…

 **(on Menagerie)**

If Blake was being completely honest, she wasn't entirely sure if she missed Menagerie. Make no mistake, she definitely missed her family, and was glad to be back with them. But being back in Menagerie, with the cramped living conditions, the tired and beaten Faunus refugees, and the overall reminder of continued inequality, Blake didn't feel especially content being back.

But one way or another, she was happy to be with her family again. Just being in the presence of her parents somehow was making her feel better; being hugged by her mother, drinking their tea again, and everything else. It was… helping at least. Of course, there was also the matter of a certain blonde individual who had joined Blake. Now were said blonde Jaune or Yang she may not have had any issue; sadly that wasn't the case…

Not that Sun hadn't been a huge help against the Feilong in the oceans on the way there. Now if he had maybe kept a little more distance when Blake go home… Though she had to admit it was somewhat amusing to see his reaction when he found out who her family was. Now he had joined the Belladonnas for tea, apparently trying (which was to say, failing) to make a good impression on them.

"We were so sorry to hear what happened," Kali Belladonna said, "Vale wasn't perfect, but it didn't deserve what happened to it. We were so worried."

"Oh come now," Ghira Belladonna said with a chuckle, "This is our daughter we're talking about. I know she'd be fine."

"Well that's falsehood if ever there was one," Kali answered, "I thought your father was going to wear a hole in our floor."

"Trust me, you had nothing to worry about!" Sun insisted, "Blake's one of the best I've seen. And boy does she have some moves!" That came out A LOT different than he must've intended, as the cats all immediately focused on the monkey.

"Care to clarify, young man?" Ghira growled, looking like he was trying to set Blake on fire.

"Uhhhh…," Sun "said" before finding his words. Which was to say "stumbling" over his words.

"Why is he here again?" Kali inquired to her daughter.

"Would you believe he followed me home?" Blake answered.

"Ahhh," Kali answered, with an amused look on her face, which Blake didn't trust in the slightest.

"Anyway, she was a big help at Beacon," Sun finally said, "Way, way above average!" Once again, Sun didn't so much put his foot in his mouth as much as he swallowed both feet whole.

"I _really_ don't like you," Ghira growled.

"I do," Kali whispered, "Any other nice boys at Beacon?"

"Mom!" Blake hissed, flashing red, to which her mother chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad my daughter had such wonderful friends backing her up," Kali then said.

"Well, that wasn't the only backup she had," Sun said, "We had backup that could fly and breath fire." Blake just managed to avoid choking on her tea as she sipped; she hadn't been one of the dragons in the skies over Vale, but there was still more than a bit she knew about them. Naturally, Blake was not going to reveal the scales; they had spread to her elbow, so she kept her coat on to make sure people couldn't see them. Perhaps if she were a reptilian Faunus she could've passed them by, but alas, that wasn't the case.

"Ah yes!" Kali said, leaning forward, "Tell us about the dragons."

"Did you see them, Blake?" Ghira asked.

"Well….. I got a few glimpses," Blake lied, "It was quite a sight. I think Sun got a better look than me." Ghira sighed slightly, clearly not glad to have to get it from Sun.

"It was… awesome," Sun said, "This might sound cliched, but it was like the gods had come down to save us."

"Well, some here are saying that the dragons were Spirits manifested to destroy the Grimm and protect the people," Kali said.

"You know, I've heard other Faunus talk about the Spirits," Sun said, "What are they?" Both Ghira and Kali looked surprised at that.

"You mean you don't know the Spirits?" Ghira almost demanded.

"He's not from Menagerie," Blake said, "He's actually from Vacuo."

"Oh, then perhaps you wouldn't no about them," Kali mused, before continuing, "Well, basically, the Spirits are…" She pursued her lips as if thinking.

"Well, I suppose they're all around us," she said, "They stewarded the creation of the Faunus and this world."

"What about the humans?" Sun asked.

"Well, if you listen to the most radical of shamans, the humans were created by evil spirits as an imperfect attempt to replicate the Faunus," Kali answered, "But I would like to believe there is something more to it than that. Perhaps the Spirits made the humans as well? Maybe someone else made the humans? Who can say for sure?" Blake involuntarily tightened her grip on her cup. What was she going to tell her family? That their beliefs, the beliefs so many Faunus held dear, was all false? That the Spirits weren't real, and that two gods of humanity were the real creators of all that was? Blake took another sip to try and calm her nerves, with limited success. As if fate was feeling especially sarcastic today, Blake heard the door knock.

"I'll get it," Blake quickly said, rising to her feet with her cup. Maybe she could walk off these nerves. She made it to the door, and opened it, and upon seeing the person on the other side, both her jaw and cup fell to the floor.

"Well that is quite the shame," Shade commented, as he glanced at the shattered remains, "That appeared to be a nice cup." He wasn't wearing his suit or trench coat. Rather he was wearing a dark leather jacket over black shirt with purple pants. On the shirt was a purple spiral.

"You… you're here," Blake said softly, as she took a step back, bumping into her father in the process.

"May I help you?" Ghira asked, putting a protective hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Lord Ghira Belladonna, I presume," Shade inquired, as he glanced at him.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Dad, this is Dr. Shade," Blake said, having regained her thoughts, "He is… was my history teacher at Beacon."

"Is that so?" Ghira said as he took a step forward. As he did, he noticed how tall Shade actually was, a full head taller than himself. It was a feeling the chieftain wasn't used to, and wasn't especially fond of. Soon, Kali and Sun came up as well.

"Hey, is that…," Sun muttered, before his eyes widened in recognition, "Aren't you Dr. Shade?"

"I am," Shade answered, looking at the monkey, "And you are?"

"I'm Sun Wukong," Sun said, "I was an exchange student at Beacon."

"Oh? I cannot seem to recall you."

"Well you only seemed to pay attention to RYPJ and BRWN," Sun grumbled, "So…"

"Well, at any rate, welcome to your home," Kali greeted with a smile, "What brings you to Menagerie? Do you have family here?"

"No, I am not from Menagerie," Shade answered, "I am not from anywhere you would know. But I am here to inspect the condition of one of my students."

"Ah, it seems someone beat us here." The group all looked up, as two Faunus (one with fox ears the other with a fox tail) were approaching them. They were both wearing red robes with black tunics and white pants.

"Forgive us for interrupting," the one with ears said.

"I shall consider it," Shade responded.

"I am Corsac Albain," the one with the tail said with a slight bow, "And this is my brother, Fennec Albain."

"Greetings," Fennec, the one with the ears, said with his own bow.

"They represent the White Fang in Menagerie," Ghira explained.

"What?!" Blake demanded, "You're meeting with them?"

"You mean they're just walking around here like nothing!" Sun demanded in his own right.

"Young man," Fennec said, "Whatever the human media has told you…."

"'Human' media?" Shade inquired. The Albain brothers glanced over and up at the doctor.

"Forgive us, sir, but I don't believe we've had the pleasure," Corsac said, as he bowed slightly.

"I am Dr. Shade, and that is all you need know of myself. But you speak of the human media as if it is somehow less legitimate."

"Come now doctor, surely you realize that humans do not have the best record…"

"And your own accounts are completely devoid of bias?" Shade interrupted, rubbing a pair of fingers together, "How convenient." The Albains were obviously displeased by his words, but they were not about to lose sight of their goal at the time.

"Well, irregardless…"

"'Irregardless'?" Blake interrupted, "We were there! We saw what happened at Beacon! Those fanatics slaughtered people!"

"Slaughtered people?" Kali echoed as she put a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Wait, you seriously don't know?" Sun said.

"Know what?" Ghira asked, narrowing his eyes. Blake's fists clenched as she began to visibly shake in rage. Not only had the White Fang attacked Beacon, but they were hiding the truth from others? The mere thought of it…

"The White Fang was there at the Fall," she said, "They attacked innocent people, and unleashed Grimm into the school."

"Is this true?" Ghira growled, turning towards the brothers. The Albains were silent for a time.

"Sadly, yes," Corsac answered.

"So you admit it?" Blake hissed, only for Ghira to put a hand up to stop her so Corsac could continue.

"From what we can surmise, the Vale branch was operating without authorization by High Leader Kahn," the fox explained, "Rather, they now seem to obey the will of one Adam Taurus." Blake bit her lip at Adam's mention, and involuntarily rubbed her scaled arm.

"Rest assured, we whole heartedly condemn what happened," Fennec said, "We were just as shocked when we heard the news."

"That is a lie," Shade suddenly said as he positioned himself in between the Belladonnas and Albains. That seemed to actually catch the brothers off guard, as they exchanged looks.

"Sir," Fennec said, "If you would please…."

"Your acknowledgment of it is indicative that you were aware of it, though the Chieftan does not know of it," the doctor instructed, "That means you kept the truth from him, and appeared willing to continue the falsehoods. That certainly speaks quite well as to your complicity in such a plot." The Albain brothers stared, their mouths hanging opening, clearly having no idea how to respond. Blake let herself smile.

 _You know, I really missed your over spoken deconstructions of people_ she said. But she got no response from Shade, he didn't even look at her.

"My Lord," Shade said turning to Ghira, "I would recommend that your otherwise reputable family not associate with individuals such as these."

"Chieftain," Corsac said quickly, "You would not believe the word of this newcomer over the word of your brothers in the White Fang, would you?" He tried to step forward, but Ghira held up his hand to make them stop.

"I must consider this new information," he said sternly, "Do not think there will not be consequences." He then ushered his family back into the house, with Sun and Shade in tow. The Albains then turned their attention to Blake.

"Sister Blake, we hope you will see past the words of this… person, and rejoin us," Fennec said, "I am sure Sister Ilia would be oh so happy to see you." Blake tensed up at the mention of that name, but didn't say anything more. Shade then flicked his wrist, shutting the door on the brothers. The two exchanged scowls, before descending the steps.

"That newcomer may prove an issue," Fennec said, "He seems to know quite a bit."

"You overestimate a stranger, brother," Corsac said, "Have faith in High Leader Taurus, I am sure all will turn as needed."

 **(somewhere on Mistral)**

Oscar Pine was about as normal a person as there could be. He helped work a small farm out of town with his aunt, generally subsisting off their crops. A simple, but peaceful existence, and one he didn't really dislike.

It had been a long day in the fields, and he was quite happy to be done with it, as he tossed his pitchfork aside. Oscar then headed over to the sink to wash his hands. However, as he was doing so, he glanced at the mirror. But something was…. off. It was his face, obviously, but it was like…. Oscar didn't know how to describe it. Like he was looking at a very realistic mask maybe? A realistic mask of his own face? Was that it? Then….

" _Hello! I'm Professor Ozpin!"_ Oscar had the typical reaction to something like this….

"GAH!"

 _World of Remnant: Empire of Mistral_

 _Of the "Four Kingdoms", only Mistral retained its monarchy. Since its founding, it was ruled by an imperial family, headed by an Emperor or Empress. Said founding is one of bloodshed, during a time where the continent of Anima was divided into domains ruled by various petty kings and warlords. Eventually, all those various kingdoms were united by the hand of the first Emperor of Mistral, Hong Zanshi, and his line has ruled ever since._

 _Mistral is an autocracy, where all power lies in the hand of the Emperor; the title was hereditary, falling to the ruler's eldest child upon their predecessor's passing. Their word was as good as law, and the Empire's policies could easily change from one day to the another depending on the Emperor's mood. Beneath the Emperor is the Chancellor, who serves as the head of state in various affairs, after which there are numerous ministries devoted to managing the Empire. The headmaster of Haven Academy also sat on the Emperor's board of advisors._

 _While still not as large as the Atlesians, the Mistrali Imperial Army was large, and well armed. Being the largest of the nations geographically speaking (Vale had a slightly larger population), it was a major necessity, though a sizable number of the population lived outside the cities. Unfortunately, that meant a number of villages were left otherwise potentially vulnerable from roving Grimm, and since the Imperial government was often disinterested in the affairs of small villages on the outskirts, much of Mistral outside the large population areas were impoverished and at risk._

 _Though it lacked the diplomatic influence of Vale or the military strength of Atlas, Mistral remained a prominent member of the world community. I suppose it is true that the older a people, the more entrenched they are in the world around them._

 **Note: Wow, this chapter ended up much longer than I thought it would. Writing for Blake's family, especially with Dr. Shade was actually a lot of fun. I think others can attest, that the more fun you have writing a chapter, the longer it'll be.**

 **Changing Mistral to a monarchy was part of the world building that I redid; I based it broadly on that of Imperial China. It will actually come up later as the story progresses.**

 **The scene in the kitchen where Shade is talking to Yang does draw on a similar scene where Oobleck and Port are talking there as well. Its an example of adapting an existing scene from canon with minor but important alterations. Shade has a very different outlook from the other two, and is certainly far wiser than they could ever be. And of course the scene with Shade in Menagerie had the same goal. Be warned, I'm probably going to be fairly harsh on the White Fang throughout this volume and the next, perhaps more than some others might be.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Side-note, I made some minor, but important edits to Chapter 35.**


	39. Talking About Nothing

_**Talking About Nothing**_

Once again, Ruby gasped herself awake. She really wasn't sure why she felt so uneasy sleeping surrounded by her friends all things considered, but nevertheless, she instinctively looked around.

"Jaune?" Ruby called gently. She heard some grunting, as her partner sat up on his sleeping bag from his space not far away.

"Ruby?" he responded, "What is it?"

"Its… its nothing," she answered, as she lay back down in her own bag. Jaune looked at her for a time, before shrugging and lying back down himself.

"Hey Jaune," Ruby called.

"Yeah?"

"You'll… let me know if you have to go anywhere, right?"

"Well, yeah, of course," Jaune said as if it were obvious. Ruby's brow furrowed, as she tired to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, it seemed like she had just closed her eyes before she found herself having to wake back up as the sun rose. Once it did, the group struck back out, where they would make their next supply stop, and maybe spend the night there as well (sleeping in an actual bed was a major draw). The group passed the time with more pointless conversation.

"I'm just saying, dragons aren't dragons without four legs and two wings," Nora insisted.

"Hey!" Ruby protested, "What does that make me?"

"You're a wyvern."

"Isn't a wyvern just another kind of dragon?"

"No!" Nora answered, "Jaune and I are the only _real dragons."_

"What about me?" Ren inquired.

"You're just a dragon from a different culture," Nora responded, putting her arms behind her head, "You don't count in this discussion."

"I can still breath fire!" Ruby said.

Yeah, give her a break, Nora," Jaune said, looking over his shoulder, "Dragons are…" He suddenly stopped as he made a face.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"Sorry! Nature calls!" the blonde said quickly, before dashing into the trees. As he did, Ruby blinked before giggling slightly at his antics. As she did, Nora suddenly appeared at her side, her arm slung around her shoulder

"I'm seeing what's going on here!" she declared.

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Nora said, shoving Ruby slightly, "Everyone can see it."

"Seewhat?" Ruby asked. She actually had a better idea than she let on, she just really didn't want to say it. Nora laughed at that.

"You know what," Nora said, patting Ruby on the back. Fortunately, Jaune showed up not long after.

"Alright," he said, "Let's keep moving."

"Wait!" Ren said, holding up his hand, before holding out a bottle of hand sanitizer.

"Oh yeah," Jaune said, with an embarrassed smile as he took it, "Thanks."

 **(at Atlas)**

If Weiss was being completely honest, she never liked singing; actually that wasn't true, she greatly enjoyed singing, she didn't like performing. It was not that she got stage fright, but it always made her feel like a windup doll; her father would turn her key, having her parade around for the people, then put her back on the shelf. Compare that with something like fighting in the Vytal Festival, where she also got some battle experience out of the whole thing. But nonetheless, she wasn't really in a place to refuse her father.

After she had completed her ridiculous presentation, there was a reception where various pieces of art were auctioned off. Nominally it was for "charity"; functionally it was for the Atlesian elite to feel good about themselves. It sickened Weiss some to think these were the people she once considered her "associates".

At the time, she was standing beside her father, as he made some kind of self-important small talk with others. Alongside Weiss was her younger brother, Whitley Schnee. He was the…. Weiss wasn't sure how she'd describe him; she was never close with him, and neither was Winter. It was somewhat inexplicable, but growing up, Whitley never really seemed to give either of them much thought.

"That is exactly what I'm saying, "Jacques said, gesturing with his glass, "We pay our Faunus workers the same amount as our human ones. Their argument is baseless right out of the gate." That meant virtually nothing all things considered; it was like saying that you weren't prejudiced because you hated one group just as much as the other.

"Well, I believe it's more of the principle of the thing," another man responded, "The fault lies with Atlas in our views towards them."

"Oh come now, Atlas once again being the scapegoat for the problems of the world," Jacques snorted, "I suppose it is our fate to be Remnant's whipping boy." Weiss tried not to roll her eyes as her brother listened attentively. Hoping to try and escape this, if only briefly, she tried to slip away, only to have her wrist grabbed.

"Darling, where are you going?" Jacques essentially demanded, "It's rude to leave in the middle of a conversation."

"I have to use the bathroom," Weiss lied, knowing it as probably the only reason he wouldn't question or protest. Sure enough, after a slight pause, Jacques let his daughter go free.

Savoring the moment of liberty, Weiss decided to take a look at some of the paintings. As she looked over it, she noticed it was one dragons, and upon closer inspection, she noticed with its white gold scales that it was probably meant to be Jaune's dragon form (though there was still some "artistic license" in it). She supposed when she thought about it, he was the one who actually brought down the airship controlling the mechs, so maybe when the footage was released.

That of course brought the heiress mind to Jaune. She knew, or at the very least thought, he was alright. Of all the people she realized she really missed, she didn't think Jaune would be among them. If anything, she thought she would miss him the least. It was kind of hard to explain why; maybe it had something to do with the dance? Was that it? No, that seemed too simply. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Jaune was honestly one of the nicest boys she had ever met if she was being completely honestly.

Those thoughts, in turn, brought Weiss' mind to the rest of Team BRWN. She had no clue where Ren and Blake were, but Weiss' thoughts first went to Nora, to her partner. While she never thought she'd be thinking this, she missed Nora; she missed her a lot. To think she would find more of a home with a hyperactive orange-haired girl with a hammer instead of among her own flesh and blood.

Weiss clenched her fist, as she rubbed her arm. Since the scales first appeared, she had to take steps to ensure that nobody could see them, which was getting harder as they spread up her arm. She really hoped that they didn't spread to her face, because of they did…

"I'll tell you what," a masculine voice said Weiss turned to see a young man, maybe about her age, standing next to her, "These paintings compliment you very well." The heiress narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, that was my attempt at breaking the ice," he said with an embarrassed smile, "How'd I do?"

"You could've done better," Weiss answered icily, turning her attention back to the painting.

"Well, honest woman are always good. Henry Marigold." He offered his hand. Weiss glanced at it for a moment.

"Weiss Schnee," she responded, taking it lightly.

"Of course," Henry said, "I saw your performance, you made these paintings seem dull by comparison." Weiss eyed him at that, not at all pleased with his frankly painfully lame lines. While Jaune would occasionally give her lines like that, at least he wasn't so shallow about them.

By Darkness, was Weiss seriously thinking how much she missed Vomit Boy's lines?

"I thought Grimm made this world intense enough, but now we've got dragons?" he continued, "Just when you thought Remnant couldn't get weirder." Weiss would've laughed when she thought about how there was technically a dragon standing right in front of him, but she wasn't in the mood.

"Are you think about buying it?" Henry asked.

"No, I'm not inclined to." The last thing she needed were more reminders of what she had lost.

"Yeah, its kind of pricy," Henry agreed.

"Its to raise charity," Weiss hissed.

"Really? For what?" A shoot of ice shot all the way up Weiss' spine, as her scales started itching again. She tightened her grip on her arm as she glared at the punk.

"Are you serious?" she demanded.

"I'll admit, I only come to these things for the free stuff," Henry said suavely (and that was using the term _very_ loosely), "And the fantastic company, naturally. So I take its another Mantle fundraiser?"

"Get. Out," Weiss commanded, enunciating every word. Henry balked at her as if she had just transformed.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Leave, or I'll have security escort you out," Weiss said as blunt as she could, "Do you want me to make it clearer for you?" She could've put that much more crassly if she was so inclined, but figured it was beneath her dignity.

"Tch, whatever," Henry said, before lurking away. Once he as gone, Weiss learned on the railing with a breath to try and calm herself. She hissed at a slight shot of pain going up her scaled arm, and when she looked at it, she noticed a couple scales on her palm. She quickly glanced her fists and held it to her chest, looking around to make sure nobody could see it. Taking another breath, she looked up at the painting of the dragon and sighed sadly.

"Frankly, what happened to Vale was a long time coming." Upon hearing that, Weiss train of thought was derailed, to see a woman, who was obviously just a trophy wife, and probably drunk, talking with her husband and "friend".

"Honey," her husband said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Please…"

"Come now," the woman said, "You said the same thing last night. Between their reluctance to build their own military, and reliance purely on us for protection, they got what they deserved." Weiss' teeth clenched, as her mouth suddenly began feeling somewhat cold…

"And I fail to understand why everyone is fawning over those giant lizards that appeared in Vale," the woman continued to rant, "Now doubt that they are just savage beasts who happened upon the city. If you ask me, they should all be hunted down and slaughtered. I'm sure those scales would look quite beautiful on a wall, especially that one with the golden…"

"Shut up!" Everyone looked over to see Weiss staring down the woman.

"Weiss…," Jacques said.

"You weren't there!" Weiss snapped, "None of you were!"

"Excuse me?" the woman didn't so much "say" as "sputtered".

"There are people in Vale who are suffering while you're all just talking about nothing but little things like your clothes, your makeup, your hair!" Weiss continued, "At least those dragons were doing something, instead of just lounging around pretending that nothing was happening!"

"Weiss!" Jacques shouted as he advanced on her and grabbed her arm.

"Let me go!"

"You're embarrassing me!"

"I said let me go!" Weiss said as she finally tore her arm free, though she lost her footing the process. As she fell to the ground, she sensed her Semblance being active, to which she glanced up. It was not what she was expecting….

Looming over Weiss, was a construct version of her dragon form. Smaller of course, maybe about half the height of an Arma Gigas, but no less imposing. Everyone let out frightened gasps and there were even a few screams as the dragon let out a hiss, as it spread its wings and launched itself at the woman who let out a terrified cry. However, before the dragon could get to close, it froze in mid air.

"What?" Weiss muttered, saying what everyone was thinking.

Everyone then noticed a tall, bald man standing by, holding up his hand. Weiss' jaw hit the floor, as Dr. Shade then clenched his fist, and the construct was destroyed. He was wearing his typical black suit, though he didn't have his horns, which was probably a good idea in this setting.

 _You're… you're back_ , she said. But he didn't answer her.

"Someone arrest her!" the woman blurted, pointing at Weiss. Shade, however, positioned himself in front of Weiss.

"I would recommend both of you take your leave," he said calmly, "Clearly this woman is intoxicated, and would likely continue to humiliate herself if allowed to remain here."

"Who do you think you are?!" _The most powerful being in existence, perhaps?_ Weiss thought.

"Someone with clearly much more sense," Shade said plainly. The woman sputtered some more, before her husband lead her out. All eyes were on Weiss, most notably her father and brother, with the latter smirking with a certain degree of satisfaction, while the former glowered at her. But he was not the one Weiss was most concerned with disappointing, as the doctor looked down at the girl.

 _I'm sorry,_ Weiss said, but once again, no answer. Shade just narrowed his eyes, folded his arms behind his back, and strolled out. The people parted out of his way like he was using his Semblance on them. This left Weiss once again alone, under the gaze of her father.

 **(in Mistral)**

Oniyuri was a would be settlement made by people dissatisfied with the state of things in the capital. Unfortunately, much like Mt. Glenn, it didn't last; if anything, it did even worse, with the people having to worry about bandits on top of Grimm, they never really had a chance. Team RNJR had passed through it a couple days earlier, before moving on, with nothing for them in this village.

A small beetle buzzed through the wreckage, as beetles were want to do. That was, until an arrow pierced it right through the wings, pinning to the wall.

"Nice shot," Rina complimented, as Eve just shrugged as she went to retrieve her arrow, while her fellow mercenaries entered the remains of the village.

"Gods," Krieg muttered, looking around, "Talk about your fixer upper."

"Everyone thinks _they_ will be the ones that will succeed where all others fail," Rina commented, "As if the rules somehow don't apply to them." As she was talking, Drago scaled one of the buildings, to look over the surrounding area. He narrowed as he looked at the mountains in the distance.

"We're getting closer to Mistral," he said, "I estimate its just another few days."

"If they get to Mistral, we can kiss that four billion good bye," Krieg griped.

"I don't need you to tell me that," the Faunus answered, before glancing down, "Eve?" The girl in green nodded, as her green eye lit up to scan the area.

 _The trail's getting more distinct,_ Eve signed, _They aren't far now._

"How far?"

 _Maybe a day or two ahead of us._

"Good," Drago said with a nod, as his tail flicked, "Remember, we need to make this clean and quick."

"Don't forget, we were told to keep the silver eyed one alive," Rina said.

"I know," Drago answered, as he jumped back down, "We'll ford that bridge when we get to it."

"And the other three?" Krieg asked.

"Just don't make it too messy," Drago answered, before gesturing, "Let's keep going, if we move quickly, we'll have them by tomorrow." As they kept walking, Eve noticed a crow flying overhead, and smirking, she notched another arrow, took aim, and….

"Eve!" Drago called back, "Stay focused." Eve pouted, but obeyed her leader's instruction.

 _You're no fun._

 _World of Remnant: State of Atlas_

 _The youngest of the Four Kingdoms, the State of Atlas was born out of necessity, probably the single most powerful force in a mortal's mind; driving by the harsh climate of the continent of Solitas, the people were forced to advance and develop quickly, lest they get consumed by the Grimm or the snow. The Kingdom of Mantle stood tall under the reign of its king for generations, until the Great War descended on the people. In its aftermath in a move to rebuild from all it had lost, the capital of the nation was moved from Mantle to the overhead city of Atlas. The military grew to dominate all affairs of sate, the monarchy was abolished, and the State of Atlas was born._

 _In Atlas, the government and the military are functionally the same thing. It is governed by the First Council of Atlas, which consists of the highest ranking generals and military officials, who are elected by the Atlesian Senate. The First Council votes on important matters of state, and during times of war, the First Council will select a Princeps to lead the whole of the military. Officially, the Senate consists of an equal number of representatives from both Mantle and Atlas, and they have the power to override the decision of the Council, but as time went on, the Council grew more powerful, to the point where the Senate is now essentially just an advisory board to it. No Princeps has been elected for years, but as the situation continues to decline, I suppose anything is possible._

 _Though it does not have the vast territory of Mistral or the respected diplomatic pull of Vale, the Atlesian military was one of the greatest on Remnant. Its economy was also one of the most powerful, due to the vast Dust deposits that existed in its borders. Unfortunately, despite its power, or perhaps because of it, Atlas also had the second highest degree of inequality in Remnant (Mistral being the first). The fortunate lived in Atlas proper, while the "less" fortunate dwelt in Mantle. Atlas remains a powerful, prosperous state though, but all nations are built on the backs of others; some are just slightly more honest about it._

 **Note: For me, if it flies and breathes fire, its at the very least a kind of dragon, irregardless of how many limbs it has. Wyverns are just a kind of dragon, and while Eastern-style ones are arguably even less like "traditional", people don't seem to protest much when they're called dragons.**

 **Something I'm inclined to think about Jacques Schnee is that he's not prejudiced against Faunus in the strictest sense. White Fang not withstanding, he strikes me as someone who scorns everyone he deems "beneath" him, and that he'd just as easily throw humans under the bus as well. Faunus are just easier to do it to.**

 **There were some hints towards both Lancaster and White Knight in this. I want to try and include hints towards the potential of any pairing. Again, if I'm being completely honest, I like all the pairings, so its hard for me to settle on one particular pairings.**

 **I tried to include a scene where RNJR finds the ruins of a village, but it was hard to put in naturally, so I cut it out. I will say that I'm not going to do the Nuckalavee in this, but a different kind. I won't tell you what though.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Just for kicks, I'm putting Penny on the poll. I don't expect anybody to vote for her, but I figured its worth seeing if anyone is interested, especially considered the latest revelation.**


	40. Greed

**_Greed_**

"I'm just saying," Dana said, "You're sitting on both a Dust mine here. You need to take advantage of it."

"Dana, I just don't think its appropriate," Pyrrha said slowly. As was "scheduled" Pyrrha was meeting with her agent, though it mostly consisted of Dana pitching concept after concept, and Pyrrha trying her best to keep up with them. They were meeting in the park, and Pyrrha was being made to sit at one of the various picnic tables around the park.

"Isn't this all taking advantage of a real tragedy?" Pyrrha said.

"It's not taking advantage, think of it as honoring these people through charity," Dana said. An agent's answer if there ever was one. Pyrrha sighed, as she rubbed her stump slightly at that.

"Have you been thinking about getting a prosthetic?" Dana asked.

"Well…"

"You shouldn't," Dana interrupted, "One leg makes you appear more experienced and sympathetic, and makes people more likely to open up to you when you talk with them." Pyrrha hands curled into fist, as she clenched her teeth, fighting the urge to sock the Faunus in the face right then. Here the red-head was, her leg amputated, and Dana was talking about using it as a way to get pity?

"I… I remember my mom telling me she needed me home by a certain time," Pyrrha lied.

"Sure," Dana said, with another one of her classically insincere smiles, "I'll be in touch." With that, she opened her wings, and buzzed away. Finally alone, Pyrrha gathered her crutches, eager to put that location behind her, as if staying there would make Dana come back. Pyrrha made her way to a nearby bench, which she promptly collapsed into, and she stared at the sky, placing her crutches in her lap. For a time, she sat there, enjoying the feeling of solitude, until…

"Well, as I live and breath, Pyrrha Nikos," a familiar voice said. Pyrrha glanced over to see a woman with long, wavy blonde hair wearing an orange shirt holding an infant boy in her arms.

"Ms. Saphron?"

"Come on, call me Saphron," the woman Pyrrha now knew to be Jaune's older sister, answered with a smile, "We've known each other a while now, and we've missed you. Adrian certainly missed you." Recognizing his name, the baby squeaked as he smiled at Pyrrha.

"Hi, Adrian," Pyrrha said gently, as she took one of his tiny hands, trying to smile.

"Mind if I join you?" Saphron asked, which she did after getting the red head's permission.

"I'd ask how you've been, but… you know." Yes, Pyrrha knew very well, as she rubbed her stump slightly, as the phantom pain rippled through it again.

"Anyway, I hope Argus has been treating you well," Saphron continued, as she adjusted her son in her arms, "I imagine the weather is a far cry form what it was like in Vale."

"Its certainly colder," Pyrrha answered, "But aside from that, its fine." Honestly though, she didn't like the cold, she never did; even growing up in Argus, she was always complaining about it. It was not at all helped by the cold agitating her missing her leg.

"So, tell me about Jaune." Pyrrha hoped her flinch wasn't too visible at that, as she remembered that Saphron was one of Jaune's seven sisters. She was almost shocked that she actually forgot all of that.

"Well, I haven't really talked to him since getting back here," Pyrrha answered, "I'm assuming he's doing well." Saphron opened her mouth, then closed it, as if a thought came to her mind, but she apparently decided not to say it. Instead, she put her mind back on Adrian, who had shifted in her arms, and was now making for Pyrrha.

"Hopefully he'll be back in Argus soon," she said, "My mom's throwing our annual family get together here in Argus. You should've seen Terra's face when she found out."

"If you don't mind me asking, where is she?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Work, where else?" Saphron said with a sigh, as she brushed some hair out of her son's face, "I swear, I'm going to string Cordovin up if she keeps pulling Terra in for late night shifts." Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at that image, thinking about the obnoxious commander of the Atlesian garrison. She then noticed Adrian shifting, and reaching for her.

"Aw, you want to be held by your Aunt Pyrrha?" Saphron cooed to his son.

"'Aunt'?" Pyrrha echoed, before she suddenly found herself holding Adrian, who happily started grabbing at her hair, to which Saphron chuckled.

"Well, you were on Jaune's team, right?" she asked.

"Yes, but…"

"So there's a chance, right?" Saphon asked.

"Uh… well…" Pyrrha really didn't know how to respond to that. Did she think of Jaune that way? Well, if she were being completely honest with herself, she wasn't sure. While she certainly enjoyed his company, and knew him to be a truly wonderful person, she wasn't sure if there was anything more than that. Yes? No? Maybe? Pyrrha just didn't know.

"Well if its worth anything, I honestly wouldn't mind having someone like you as a sister-in-law," Saphron said with a wink. Pyrrha must've _really_ balked at her for saying that, considering the way Saphron seemed surprised, before laughing slightly.

"Sorry," the blonde said with a slightly embarrassed smile, "I'll admit that sounded a lot better in my head." Despite herself, Pyrrha laughed as well, though it gave way to a slight wince as she felt Adrian give a sound tug on her hair.

"Adrian!" Saphron scolded, "That's not nice!"

"Its fine," Pyrrha answered, as she took her hair behind her ear. She looked down at the baby in her arms, who smiled up at her. Pyrrha let herself imagine being this little boy's aunt; it… was a pretty image. Unfortunately she couldn't dwell on it much longer as she heard her scroll ringing.

"I'm sorry, but can I take this?"

"Of course," Saphron answered, as she took her son back, after which Pyrrha answered her scroll.

"Hello?"

" _Pyrrha?"_ she heard her mother's voice call _, "Are you still talking with Dana?"_

"Well, no," Pyrrha answered, not sure where her mom was going with this.

" _Then can you come home now? We've got a surprise for you."_ Leaving it at that, Thetis hung up.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said, "But that was my mom. I think I need to go now."

"Oh, no problem," Saphron said, "Its always nice to see you, and I'm sure Adrian will agree." With that, Pyrrha boosted herself up, and started hobbling away.

"Hey Pyrrha." The red-head gave pause, as she looked back at her.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on Jaune," Saphron said with a smile. Finally being able to smile back, Pyrrha continued on.

Fortunately her house wasn't far from the park, so it wasn't far for Pyrrha to limp. She couldn't imagine why her mother would want her back so soon, though she certainly didn't like Dana either. Soon enough, she got home, and Pyrrha made her way home.

"Oh, welcome home, sweetie," Thetis said with a smile as her daughter walked in.

"Mom, what is…" Pyrrha stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing who was also standing at the table.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Nikos," Dr. Shade said. There was a clattering as Pyrrha's crutches fell to the floor. In the process, Pyrrha started losing in her balance, but before she could fall, Shade's telekinesis caught her, and put the crutches back inner hands.

"That is one way to greet your teacher," he commented.

"What… what are you doing here?" Pyrrha asked, as she slowly approached them.

"I wished to ensure you are well, considering your…. disability." Pyrrha supposed she should be thankful that he used such a word, but that was the last thing on her mind. Here, standing in her home, was the God of Darkness, one of the two gods her parents would routinely pray to and worship, and her family had no idea. The thought made her head spin a bit more than normal.

"That's not the only thing," Thetis said, smiling as she drew Pyrrha's attention to a box on the table. Suddenly curious, Pyrrha moved over, and unboxed it. To her surprise, inside was a full prosthetic leg.

"This is….," Pyrrha muttered, before asking, "Where did you get this?"

"It was just sent by mail," Peleus answered, "Along with his card." He then held out an envelope. Taking it, Pyrrha saw it read: _To Pyrrha Nikos, from her Fans_. Pyrrha's breath hitched as she saw that, and she moved to open it, before hesitating, and slipping into her pocket. Her eyes then looked towards the leg.

"Aren't you going to try it?" Thetis asked.

"I… I don't know," Pyrrha answered. And that was true, she honestly didn't know if she really wanted to try it. It seemed… she couldn't find the words, but Pyrrha just didn't feel it. This wasn't her leg, it was a metal replacement.

"You can ether try it or not," Shade suddenly said, "But nothing will happen if you continue to stare at it."

"Talk about it," Thetis said, "Its worth giving it a shot at least."

"May… maybe later," Pyrrha said slowly, as she hopped back slightly. She then looked at Shade, who arched an eyebrow at her.

"'Later' may not prove substantial," Shade said, "If you do not make a decision soon, someone will make it for later."

 _Like you?_ Pyrrha asked, but got no response from the Faunus.

"I leave you with these words," Shade said, before looking towards Pyrrha's parents, "Thank you for your hospitality." With that, the doctor took his leave.

"I liked him," Thetis commented, "He had some great opinions on everything. It was also nice to meet another believer in the Brothers. Seems so fewer people are believers these days." "He is one of the Brothers" was what Pyrrha wanted to say, but certainly couldn't.

 **(in Mistral)**

It had been a long day of walking, and the sun was starting to near the horizon. Of course, that was what RNJR had assumed, since the day had become very cloudy, making it seem later than it really was. Ruby frowned up at the sky, as she chewed on her lip.

"You okay?" Jaune asked.

"I…. I think so," Ruby said. She rubbed her scaled arm, as a tingling feeling went up it.

"Look!" Nora said, pointing, "It's another town!" She was right, but "town" wasn't entirely the right word. It was another ruin, though this one looked arguably in worse shape than the ones from before.

"This place looks like crap," Nora said.

"Why does Anima have so many of these towns?" Jaune asked.

"Because people are tired living in the large cities, under the Mistrali nobility," Ren answered, "It's that simple."

"Glad I'm from Vale," Ruby muttered. She liked being in a democracy, even if it was a flawed one.

"Well, we've got to keep going," Jaune said, "Let's go a couple more miles, and then…" He couldn't finish, as Ren suddenly held up his hand to silence them.

"What is it?" Nora asked.

"Shh," Ren hushed, "Listen." They did hear something: the sound of running. Jaune then glanced aside….

"LOOK OUT!" he shouted, as he tackled Ruby away, just as a blast of blue energy energy came down at them. RNJR quickly gathered together, their weapons at the ready, looking around from where the blast had come from. They were then disturbed by the sound of rubble shifting. They turned over to see blue tendrils lifting the rubble out of the way.

"Finally, I thought we'd never catch up," Rina Azul said as she emerged from the dust, holding her weapon, Excandesence, which was a long wooden staff with blue veins and wires leading up to a large blue crystal at the end. The blue tendrils were coming from that crystal.

"Who the hell are you?" Nora demanded.

"Just a person with a job to do," Rina answered, plainly, before holding up her staff, "Now hold still please…" Her Aura then let up blue, before it got concentrated down through the veins on her staff. Around Rina appeared what looked like small blades, and with a flick of Excandesence, sent the blades at RNJR.

"Scatter!" Jaune called, which the group exactly did. As they were doing so, Ren fired at Rina, who just waved her staff again, creating a blue shield that the bullets harmlessly bounced off of. Spinning her staff, the shield then turned into a spiral of energy that went at Ren, who managed to dodge again.

It was then that Ruby seemed to sense something, as she instinctively moved back. As she did, an arrow with a red head soared past her face, knocking off one of her hairs. The arrow then struck a nearby building, which burst into flames. Ruby looked up to see Eve Leaf standing on the wall, as she quickly notched another arrow, which Ruby had to dodge. She then switched Crescent Rose to rifle mode, and shot at Eve, only for the archer to easily dodge, and jump down to her level. Her attention was then seized by a smashing sound, as Krieg Steele broke through one of the buildings.

"Ah yeah!" he bellowed, as he brought down his axes, Domr and Sekr down on her. Fortunately, Ruby managed to avoid the attack, as she and the rest of her team managed to regroup in the center of town, while the three mercenaries gathered around them.

"Alright," a new voice said, "Let's get this over with." RNJR then all looked up to see Drago Blaze walking on the roof of one of the buildings.

"Who are you?" Ruby demanded.

"Drago Blaze," Drago answered, with a slight, and more than a little mocking, bow, "We are Team DRKE."

"You're a Faunus," Ruby said, noticing Drago's tail.

"Yeah, last I checked."

"So what is this about? The White Fang?"

"A cause we are neither involved in nor particularly care about," Drago said plainly with a shrug, "We don't know why the people who hired us want you dead, and we aren't really interested. We're getting four billion lien for this job, and that's all that matters."

"Wait!" Jaune said, "This is just about money?

"Well…. yeah," Drago said, as if there completely obvious. However, an angry chill went down the spines of all in RNJR; these guys were killing just for some money?

"You bastards," Jaune swore, tightening his grip on his sword.

"Look," Drago said, unfazed by Jaune's swearing, "None of us here really like Anima, so…." He then held out his arms, as a black iron chain tipped with a hooked dropped from each sleeve.

"Just cooperate, and we can make this nice and quick," he said, as his weapon, Blackfire, burst into flames. He then swung the chains up, almost making it look like he had blazing wings, and jumped down to their level. RNJR scattered, as he swung both chains down, leaving deep gashes in the ground.

Nora switched Magnhild into its grenade launcher form, and moved to shoot at him, only to glance over to see a small form charging at her. She leapt out of the way, and had to switch her weapon back into to its hammer form as Krieg brought Domr and Sekr down. Nora easily parried it, and brought Magnhild back down on the shorter man; unfortunately, Krieg faster than he seemed, as he avoided the attack. He then brought both axes together to form a great axe, Viti, as he and Nora began dueling. Soon, the two clashed their weapons together.

"'Ya really going to make me fight for this, aren't 'ya lass?" Krieg grumbled.

"You know it," the orange haired girl sneered. Eventually, she leapt back, and turned her hammer to a grenade launcher.

"Eat this, Shorty!" Nora snapped, as she released three grenades in sequence, which quickly consumed the small man; Nora would've smiled, but she was experienced enough to know not to get so cocky so quickly. When the dust cleared, it showed Krieg still standing. She was necessarily surprised to see that, but was she was surprised to see was who is body seemed to be literally shining. On closer inspection, she saw that his skin was now covered in some kind of metal.

"'Shorty'?" Krieg echoed, putting his axe on his shoulder, "There are so many more original gripes. I'm disappointed in 'ya."

"Piss off you jerk!" Nora snapped.

"Ah well, no real problem," Krieg said, before shrugging, "Working for your prize makes it a little bit more satisfying." He then charged Nora, moving deceptively quite for a guy of his size; Nora managed to block both of hit attacks. His axe then turned into a double barreled shotgun. While Nora avoided the attack, Krieg split Viti back into Domr and Sekr, and fired both of them at her. These hit Nora directly, and while her Aura deflected the blast, it still knocked her back.

That wasn't at all lost on Ren, who went to help his friend, only having to dodge an arrow from Eve. He glanced up as the quick footed girl advanced on him, as her bow, Thorn, snapped straight into a spear.

 _You're not half-bad,_ Eve signed _, But one billion Lien isn't half-bad either._ Unfortunately, Ren didn't know sign language, so it went completely over his head, as he brought down StormFlower down on Eve. She flipped back, as she turned boosted herself into the air with Thorn, before switching it back into a bow, and fired one red, one black, and one yellow arrow at Ren. The attack released a burst of Dust that sent Ren tumbling back. He quickly rose back to his feet, and switched StormFlower back into gun mode, while Eve spun Thorn, deflecting the attacks. Once Ren let up, she drew a red arrow, and fired at him, which Ren managed to dodge.

For her own, Ruby wasn't having much luck either on her end. While she had the edge in speed, Drago's reach with those chains made getting close difficult. Also, while not as fast as her, he was still fast enough that Ruby couldn't get the time in for a good shot with rifle mode. With a cackle, Drago swung Blackfire at Ruby, who used her Semblance to dodge. The chains sliced right through the building she was standing in front of.

"Where'd you go?" Drago hissed, as he eagerly looked around for Ruby. The girl then appeared behind him, as she fired an Ice Dust bullet at him, though he easily dodged. He then smiled, as he opened his mouth, and at first Ruby didn't know what he was doing, but her instincts kicked in, and she dodged as a burst of heat came from the Faunus' mouth, hot enough that the rubble caught fire. Upon seeing that, it wasn't hard for her to deduce that Drago's Semblance was generating great mounts of heat. Right now, Ruby wanted nothing more right now than to become a real dragon, and roast this wannabe, however, between her inability to concentrate and her confusion, she was finding herself unable to. So with that…

"Take this!" Ruby shouted, as she swung Crescent Rose at him, though Drago leaned back, dodging the attack, before flipping back. He then swung both pieces of Blackfire out in a wide arc, which Ruby had to lean back to avoid this time.

"I'm sensing a pattern here," Drago sneered, as he smiled cruelly at Ruby, who just clenched her teeth at him.

During all of this, Jaune ended up squared against Rina, and it was arguably going best for him, though that was mostly be virtue of Rina mostly just blocking and occasionally knocking him back, as if she weren't interested in the battle. Jaune swung his blade at her, only for Rina to easily dodge. She then flicked Excandesence slightly, sending a fist of Aura his way, knocking the young man away. Jaune quickly recovered and was eager to continue, but Rina waved her staff at him, as a series of blue chains materialized from the staff, binding the blonde in place.

"You know, this is really just a waste of time," Rina said, "You can't beat me."

"Says you," Jaune answered, as he pulled at the chains Rina rolled her eyes.

"You know, why don't you just give up and let me finish the job," she said, "I'll make it nice and painless." She then paused as a thought seem to come to her.

"And I'll tell you what, when its done, I'll send a slice of my cut to your family," she said. Jaune froze at that.

"Say what?"

"If you just give me their names and a place I can send the reward, I can ge tit done," Rina explained, "How does a fifth of a billion sound?"

"Wait," Jaune said, not sure he heard that right, "Did you just offer me financial incentive to let you kill me?"

"Indeed," Rina said plainly, "So, what do you say?"

"You're kidding right?"

"No, why would I be?" Jaune's face contorted in rage, as a shot of pain went up his scaled arm, but he ignored it.

"What kind of person… does that kind of stuff?" he growled.

"A smart person?" Rina offered, "Maybe…" She couldn't finish, as Jaune's eyes turned to slits, and with a roar, freed himself from the chains and charged, quick enough that Rina could only just raise Excandesence to defend herself. She had to parry her attacks the best she could, before with a blast of her Aura, she sent Jaune tumbling away.

"Dumb kid," she muttered, rolling her eyes, as she pointed Excandesence at him, ready to continue the fight.

Meanwhile, Ruby let out a cry as she tried to slash at Drago again, only for him to duck down and fall to his knees. He then grinned as he held up his tail, and lashed it at her; Ruby let out a yelp as she tried to avoid the attacks. However she was too slow, as she got smacked across the face, sending her tumbling back.

"Ruby!" Jaune cried, as he tried to help her, only for him to have to block from several blue spears from Rina. However, as he did, a crow flew past him. Smirking in triumph, Drago leapt into the air, as he swung Blackfire up. Ruby could only look as he brought them down, and braced herself; but they didn't hit. Eventually, she opened her eyes, to notice the chains wrapped around a thick, powerful blade, attached to rugged, worn looking man with a red cape.

"The hell?" Drago muttered as he noticed who that was.

"Seems I can't let you go for ten minutes without you getting in some kind of trouble," Qrow said with smile at his niece. After a moment of surprise, Ruby returned the smile.

"Yeah," she said, "I guess so."

 _World of Remnant: Vacuo_

 _To call Vacuo a country would be being…. generous, to say the least. It is not so much a true state, as much as it is a loose collection of various alliances and families that work together towards some kind of common goal. Be that goal power, wealth, or simple survival, it has been what allowed the people to prevent from ripping each other to pieces._

 _Ever since its inception, it has been ruled not by a king or council; rather, it has been ruled by one thing alone: strength. Even before the Great War, Vacuo was ruled by a system where the strongest and most capable would fight their way up to become Lord of Vacuo. The Lord's power is essentially absolute, to the point that they keeps the others in line. Should the Lord fail to keep that support, their supporters can and will dethrone them. In the time before the Great War, when Vacuo still had some resources to its name, the Lord could maybe use some degree of incentive to keep others in line, but after the War drained its supplies both literally and metaphorically dry, strength became the only law in that land._

 _Having no true military in the sense of the world, what binds the people together is common interest, namely the common interest to not be dominated by foreigners. To that end, if Vacuo were to ever find itself threatened, the people would band together to fight the invaders. Vacuo does indeed have an Academy of its own, and it is arguably the most stable institution in its land, with the Headmaster serving as a confidante, and at times mediator for the various powerful people. I almost shudder to think what were to happen should the Academy fall…._

 **Note: Seems Pyrrha got her own visit from Shade now, and her own prosthetic. Something I wasn't entirely sure how to approach was Pyrrha's relationship with Jaune. Now since her partner is Yang in this continuity, and she never really trained with Jaune, I've only got the "crush at first sight" that she still had in this version to build on. I was really unsure if her deciding she did feel that way about Jaune would work at this point.**

 **The names of Krieg's weapons are taken from Old Norse words, "Domr" means "judgement", "Sekr" means "condemn", and "Viti" means "punishment". Rina's weapon "Excandesence" is Latin, and refers to light. Drago and Eve's weapons are self-explanatory. In case anyone takes umbrage with how bad RNJR was doing against DRKE, consider that in Vol. 4, they were doing pretty bad against Tyrian; even assuming Tyrian is better than DRKE (which is a fair assumption), it was the four of them working together. Here, they're each fighting an older fighter who likely has considerably more experience than any of them, anyone their age would have trouble.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Now, if you'd indulge me briefly, I'm going to do a brief essay on the shipping/romance in** _ **RWBY**_ **proper; mostly on the chances each individual pairing may have. For this, I'm going to focus on the pairings that popular or have real potential. Feel free to ignore this.**

 **I'll start by bringing up the same-sex pairings (which are certainly more popular among fans, which isn't really surprising for me). First off, let's look at White Rose, a pairing I can understand the appeal for, but if we're being really honest, has very little basis in canon; Weiss and Ruby have hugged, but its clearly a friendship/sisterly hug, not a romantic one. But even if you subtract that, there are two reasons why it's unlikely: 1) Ruby has never displayed such interest in anyone, boy or girl, yet; 2) Weiss has demonstrated such feelings towards males, but never towards females, so I'm pretty sure we can ascertain that she's heterosexual. If they were to suddenly have one or both of the characters come out as gay this late, in what is essentially Act 3 of the story, it wouldn't really work; if they were going to do so, I feel they would've started setting it up in Vol. 5 or 6. Then there's "Bumblebee", and this is one that I think can actually go somewhere in canon (for obvious reasons), though I think we should wait to get more explicit confirmation before calling it canonized; but I would be not at all surprised or displeased if things do ultimately go that way for the two of them in this volume. Of course, Vol. 7 just started, and you never know where it might go, but if any girl were to end up with Ruby, I'd think it'd be Penny, seeing as their bond could the most easily turn into something romantic (again, I see Weiss and Ruby's relationship as more sisterly than anything else).**

 **Going into the straight pairings, the only one that's really got any attention was Rennora, of which nothing more needs to be said. Blake x Sun, while having potential, likely won't go anywhere, what with Sun being put on the bus, and the fact he likely won't return to the series for a while now (I anticipate him showing up for the finale); though if Bumblebee doesn't ultimately happen (remember, its certainly been hinted at, but not explicitly enough to be called official), that could be the way Blake's relationships go. "Rose Garden" (Ruby x Oscar) I think could very easily go somewhere, seeing as there have been points where Ruby has been there for Oscar, and a moment where first meeting them, where Oscar looks at Ruby, she giggles, and Oscar looks down, clearly embarrassed. As for poor Jaune, I seriously doubt he will get any other girl now that Pyrrha's dead; barring any new characters showing up, the only two girls who I could see him getting with at this point are either Ruby or Weiss. Weiss and Jaune have had surprisingly little interaction since Vol. 2, so unless it gets ratcheted up in Vol. 7, that probably knocks her off the list, which of course leaves Ruby (it makes me realize that Ruby is the only one of her team who has had a lot of real interaction with Jaune since Vol. 2, heck, I think Blake and Yang have said more lines to Jaune in** _ **RWBY Chibi**_ **than they've had in canon). While the two have demonstrated a real connection, which could potentially progress into something more, it would take some real buildup for it go from friendship to romance.**

 **Now this is all assuming that any romance happens in** _ **RWBY**_ **, of which it is not at all obligated to do. The story could very easily end with the girls remaining friends, and that being the way it goes; they are the leads, and in the end, the story will assuredly go their way, and prioritize their ultimate happiness over any other groups; not necessarily a bad thing, just the way stories like these go. I just feel really bad for Jaune in the romantic department, and I really want him to find that special someone.**

 **Well anyway, that was my spiel, and if you decided to read through this, I thank you.**


	41. Dragon Fire

_**Dragon Fire**_

"Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful. You just couldn't maintain your self-control, couldn't you? You had to lose control like that."

Weiss just stared at the floor. It was honestly not the first time she got this kind of spiel read to her. She had eventually just learned to nod her head, apologize, say thank you, etcetera. But now, she found herself not at all in the mood to keep up that behavior to him. Instead, she just kept glaring at one spot beneath her.

"You used to understand the importance of painting our respectability," Jacques continued as he paced in front of her, "I don't know what Beacon did to you, but just as I thought, it was great mistake. But you had to stick to your goal of being a huntress. You could've been the next leader of the company, could've been one of the most powerful woman in Remnant, but you…"

"I don't care anymore." Those words sat heavily in the air for a time, as Jacques stared at his second-born. Weiss was looking at him straight in the eye.

"What did you say?"

"I don't care anymore," Weiss repeated, her glare hardening, "I don't care about maintaining the family name, protecting our reputation, or making things easier for you. I'm not your pet, not another thing you own."

"Weiss…," Jacques said dangerously, narrowing his eyes.

"You know, I thought you were powerful," Weiss said, "But I've seen real power, and I now know that your power comes at the grace of others; it's not really your's." Jacques was silent for a time, as he seemed to fully absorb those words from his daughter. To that end, Weiss decided that she had gone this far, no reason not to go all in.

"And, I'm actually somewhat surprised that you care this much about the Schnee name. After all, you did just marry into the name!" For a moment, Jacques seemed shocked, before that shock turned into rage, as he brought up his hand, and then swung it down. Weiss braced herself, but his hand never connected. Weiss was left staring at the hand barely an inch from her face.

"What….," Jacques said, as he found himself unable to move his hand. He was then suddenly pulled back from Weiss. Looking around, Jacques noticed Dr. Shade walking past him, glancing at the president darkly. Weiss couldn't help but gasp at the sight of her teacher like that.

"How in the hell did you get in here?" Jacques demanded.

"Your butler let me in," Shade answered plainly.

"Well then, get the hell out! You have no right to be in here!" Shade didn't say anything initially, before he positioned himself squarely in front of Weiss, who just stared up at him.

"You will not touch her." That was not a threat, nor a warning, nor even a boast, it was a fact, a plain, inarguably fact. Jacques had faced down powerful men before, but something about standing in the presence of Shade, was completely different. And while he couldn't state why, for the first time in a while, Jacques knew he had to retreat, as he stepped away.

"This is not over, Weiss," he hissed, as he left the room. Once he was gone, Shade took a breath, as he looked towards the girl.

"Are you well?" he asked.

"You… how…," she tried to say.

"Your butler did in fact let me in," Shade explained, "Rest assured, I will see to it that nothing happens to him." Weiss opened her mouth, then closed it as her chin started quivering, and she threw her arms around the doctor's waist, sobbing. Shade was surprised by that, as he recoiled back briefly. However, as he did, a feeling stirred him, one that he had not felt in eons, as he slowly put one hand on her back.

"He will not hurt you while I am here," he promised softly. Weiss cried for some time, and Shade allowed her to, until she finally calmed down, and looked up at him.

"I…. I don't know what to do," Weiss said softly.

"Yes, you do," Shade answered, "I do not need to tell you anything." He then gently freed himself from her, and stepped back, and walked out the door. Weiss wanted to call out for him, but found that she couldn't, as she realized she didn't even know what to say to him. For a time, she stared at the door, before her eyes slowly lingered away. In their wandering, they landed on the case that Myrtenaster rested in. For what seemed like hours, she stared at the case, before her fists clenched, and Weiss' gaze went from unsure to full clarity.

Weiss marched over to the case, and pulled the weapon out of its case. She then held it front of her, took a deep breath, as she slowly traced her finger down Myrtenaster, as a glyph formed in front of her. But instead of trying to force it, she just calmly let the energy flow. And that glyph, rose a complete construct version of her dragon form, who stood before her, and spread its great wings. For Weiss, it was like looking into a mirror. But not the kind of mirror she had looked into before; this reflection seemed truer.

A tingling feeling went down the girl's arm, and Weiss rolled up her sleeve, to see all the white scales receding. Upon seeing that, she smiled, as she looked at the construct, which somehow seemed to be returning that smile.

Shade was right, she knew _exactly_ what to do.

 **(on Anima)**

The whole battle of RNJR vs. DRKE came to a halt, as Qrow stood before them all. Nobody knew where he came from, but RNJR at least weren't going to protest his arrival. For their own, DRKE was left somewhat confused, and in Drago's case, a tad irritated. The Faunus yanked his chains back to him, glaring at the man.

"And you are?"

"Just a concerned uncle," Qrow said, putting Harbinger on his shoulder, "Now why the hell are you jackasses going after my niece?"

"We're being paid to, that's why," Drago said, as he looked over Qrow

"And whose the one doing the paying?" Qrow asked.

"No one you'd probably know."

"Great, so you're just errand boys, then?" Qrow sneered. Drago glared at the other man.

"You know, I'm not sure who you are," he said, "but you strike me as a guy with enemies. I'm sure someone will pay us decently if we bring them your head." He then lashed Blackfire again.

"Alright," he said, "Let's get you dealt with." He then whistled, as the rest of his team gathered around Qrow.

"I've got your back, Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, as she got ready to fight as well.

"Normally I'd say 'no'," said uncle responded, before sighing, "But I could use all the help I could get at this point." That was the end of the "discussion" then and there, as Eve fired a gravity arrow in their direction, creating a shockwave knocking them all away.

Ruby managed to dodge, and fired her own Dust bullet. It didn't do much, though, as Krieg's body again became coated in metal, deflecting the attack. Surprised by this, Ruby was caught off guard when she got shot at again by both Domr and Sekr separately. While her Aura stopped the damage, it still knocked back, and against a nearby block of concrete, knocking her out.

"Ruby!" Qrow called, as he freed himself from Drago. he then punched the Faunus in the stomach, stunning him, before kicking him back. This caused Drago to stumble back towards a well, where he lost his footing, and fell into the well. Qrow then leapt at Krieg, boosting himself with a fire from Harbinger. Krieg turned around and had to block a strike from the sword.

Qrow quickly switched the sword to a scythe, hooking the two axes, which he used to unlock them. He then kicked Krieg in the stomach, knocking him back, though the small man easily recovered, and brought Domr and Sekr back together to form Viti, which he swung up, knocking back the scythe, which Qrow turned back into a sword. Qrow then jumped back, as he parried a strike from Krieg, making his way into a nearby house, which Krieg quickly followed him into. As he did, Qrow glanced up at the ceiling, after which he kicked the side of the wall, much to the axe-wielder's confusion.

"The hell was that supposed to do?" Krieg demanded. Qrow just grinned, to Krieg's confusion. Right then, the support beam gave way, causing the rubble to come tumbling down onto the axe wielder. The man couldn't savor his victory, as he saw a blue shockwave came his way, and he had to dodge it.

Rina waved Excandesence in a star form, sending several concentrated pules of energy in Qrow's direction that resembled stars. Fortunately the man managed to avoid the attacks, as he switched Harbinger to gun mode, and fired on her. She managed to dodge, only to come straight up to Jaune, who spun as he swung Crocea Mars at her. Rina used her staff to push her away, but the blade came close, just close enough to knick her cheek.

While Rina was distracted with Jaune, Qrow was able to turn his attention back to Drago, who was pulling himself out of the well. Before he could move to help her, he sensed something, and dodged as an arrow whistled by his ear; upon connection with some nearby rubble, it created a massive block of ice. Eve quickly notched another arrow, but she had to dodge grenades from Magnhild.

"Over here leaf lady!" Nora snapped, as she fired another grenade, which Eve easily avoided. The archer just rolled her eyes, as she switched Thorn to spear mode, and jumped at Nora, only to get intercepted by Ren. While she didn't have much difficulty avoiding his attacks, it did distract her from Nora, who switched her weapon back to hammer mode, and swung at her. While Eve managed to dodge that as well, she knew the odds weren't in her favor, so she doubled back onto the building, spinning her spear as she did to avoid Ren's gunfire. She then sprung back, notching another arrow, and firing it at nora.

The arrow as a lightning arrow, which Nora took straight in the shoulder, knocking her down. Eve sneered at the sight, before turning her attention back towards Ren, who only smiled at her. That made Eve's sneer slip, before she turned to glance behind her, only to just catch a quick enough glimpse of Nora on top of her, her body literally crackling with electricity. She then got a direct hit with Magnhild, sending her tumbling into some rubble, vanishing into the dust.

Meanwhile, Qrow continued to spar with Drago, running into the same problem Ruby was having earlier, namely getting close enough to stick any real attacks, with Blackfire providing a sort of pseudo-barrier. Drago then opened his mouth, and let loose a heat wave in Qrow's direction. Qrow held up Harbinger to block, and while it did prevent the worst of the attack from hitting him, the heat still seared his skin. When it let up, he switched his sword to scythe mode, and sprung at Drago; he did have an advantage Ruby didn't however: experience.

As Drago swung his chain, Qrow leaned back under them, once again, the heat of the chain singing his stubble slightly. But he was still close enough to Drago to head butt him, knocking the lizard Faunus off foot and onto the ground. He then brought the scythe down, though Drago caught it with his tail. He then rolled out of the way, eager to put some distance between him again. Qrow, on the other hand, had no intention on letting that happen, as he pressed the attack, forcing Drago to keep rolling. Eventually, the Faunus hit a wall, where Qrow let up his attack. Drago didn't have time to notice that, as tiling from the roof slipped from the roof, and crumbled down on him.

"You bastard," Drago hissed, as he pulled himself out of the rubble.

"I don't want to kill you," Qrow said, "So just you and your friends just get out of here!"

"For four billion lien?" Drago answered, as he pulled himself up, "Not on your life!"

"Fine then," Qrow said, as he swung Harbinger again, but Drago's Faunus reflexes kicked in quicker, as he ducked, and his tail lashed out, stunning Qrow on his forehead. The blow knocked Qrow back, allowing Drago to smack him again, knocking him back further. As this was happening, Ruby regained consciousness, as she pulled herself back to her feet.

Qrow managed to recover from the blows, and moved to counterattack. But he couldn't, as an arrow whistled through the air, and struck him right in the shoulder. Qrow let out a grunt of pain, as he grabbed at it, glancing up as Eve lowered her bow, the green glow fading from her eye. In that moment of distraction, Rina broke her attention from Jaune, and waved Excandesence at the veteran, sending a fist of blue energy at him, knocking him upside the head, stunning him. Shortly after, Qrow found Blackfire lashed around his neck.

"Finally," Drago hissed, as Qrow tried tugging at the chain, "Let's get that head off!" Upon hearing that, the niece in the picture froze, as her eyes widened, before turning to slits. Suddenly, all other thoughts left Ruby's mind, save for one: save her uncle, and a power she had not felt for months now suddenly surged back from within her….

"Let's end this!" Drago declared, as he moved to pull, before a tremendous roar distracted him. He turned to see a gaping maw of teeth coming at him He had to let go of Blackfire, as the dragon's jaws came so close he could feel the heat coming from it. Drago was sent tumbling back, as he held onto his side. Ruby let out a menacing hiss, as she came up to her uncle, folding one wing around him protectively, which naturally left Qrow rather flummoxed.

"Well… this is a new one," he said slowly. RNJR was equally shocked by the sight.

"She transformed!" Jaune said.

"How?" Ren asked, "We haven't been able to change since Beacon."

"Who knows?" Nora responded, before grinning, "But I'll take it now!" She moved to get the fight, only for Jaune to grab her shoulder.

"She's got this," he said, "Let's not get in her way." Meanwhile, DRKE encircled Ruby, who growled, as steam leaked from the corners of her mouth.

"That…. that's one of the dragons from Vale," Rina, said, "Can we handle this?"

"I…" Drago wasn't able to finish, as Ruby pounced, and he had to jump out of the way from her claws. He lashed Blackfire at her, only for them to harmlessly bounce off her scales. Before Ruby could counterattack, Eve loosed an ice arrow at her, creating a block of ice on the dragon's back. However, the ice almost immediately melted away, and the dragon turned towards Eve.

 _Ah crap_ Eve signed, as Ruby opened her mouth and released a cloud of fire at her. She managed to avoid it, only for the dragon to launch herself through the flames, seizing Eve in her claws. She growled in the face of the archer, who stared up in horror.

"Eat this ya' overgrown gecko!" Krieg bellowed as he leapt up with Viti. As he brought the axe down, though, it harmlessly bounced off of Ruby's scales. The dragon then turned her glance towards Krieg, narrowing her eyes, and showing her teeth. Instantly, Krieg activated his Semblance, coating himself in metal again, as Ruby brought her claw down on him.

As it turned out, the metal did squat to deflect the attack, as Krieg was sent careening away. Fortunately for him, the metal combined with his Aura did manage to deflect the worst of the attack. While Ruby was distracted, Eve managed to worm her way out of her claws, and get away. She barely managed to avoid a snap from Ruby's jaws.

As this was happening, Rina took a breath as she waved Excandesence, causing glowing blue hands to come from the staff, grabbing at the rubble, and hurled them at Ruby. All of them struck, stunning the dragon slightly. Cringing in victory, Rina, began to gather up more pieces of rubbles to attack again. However, Ruby let out a pained growl, as the muscles in her back rippled, before what looked like thorny vines exploded from it. They lashed through the air, knocking them away. With a roar, Ruby's vines then lashed out at all the mercenaries, who had to scatter.

"Whoa!" Nora cried, "Since when could she do that?" No one could say so, but they were all equally impressed.

One of the vines managed to successfully get a hold of Rina, who cried out as the thorns dug into her. Ruby then held up her up, and threw her into the ground. Rina managed to create a blue shield that cushioned her blow, but the force of it caused her Aura to shatter.

Before Ruby could pursue the attack, she got struck in the face by Blackfire again. She turned to see Drago charging at her again. Drago inhaled, and let out another burst of heat from his mouth. However, when it hit Ruby, she didn't so much as seem to react, save for turning her attention to him. The dragon lunged at the dragon-wannabe, though Drago was able to evade the attack, initially at least.

The Faunus was suddenly caught square in the chest by the dragon's tail. The wind was so blown out of her, he didn't do so much cry out as he croaked. He was sent tumbling away head over heels, before crashing into the wall, out cold. With their leader down, the rest of the team quickly saw the writing on the wall.

"To hell with this!" Krieg declared, as he ran over and slung one of Drago's arms around his shoulder, "Our contract didn't say crap about fighting damn dragons!" With that, he dragged Drago away while Rina slowly limped after her. Ruby let out a hiss, as she started to open her wings to follow them, but Eve released an explosive arrow into the ground that kicked up a large amount of dust. When it cleared, DRKE was gone, and Ruby spread her wings and roared in frustration.

"Ruby!" she suddenly heard Jaune call. She turned to see him next to Qrow, who was pulling himself to his feet. Letting out something that sounded like a purr, Ruby crawled over to him, as she reverted back to human form.

"What's going on?" Nora asked.

"Why were you following us?"

"Why would people want us dead?"

"You guys are asking me all this," Qrow said, "but I've got a question for you." He then looked straight at Ruby.

"Why the hell were you a dragon?!" he all but shouted, when made Ruby visibly flinch.

"I think everyone needs some questions answered." Everyone turned to the sound of the voice, as RNJR's eyes widened to see a certain someone advancing on them.

"It may be appropriate to have another 'chat'," Shade said.

 _World of Remnant: Chiefdom of Menagerie_

 _I do not know the origin of the Faunus, but I suppose it is irrelevant at the time. They are here now, and they have shaped the world quite thoroughly in their own right. What I have been able to deduce was that at some point in the past, the humans achieved dominance over them. For generations they enslaved and subjugated the Faunus. I suspect there may yet be something to their story, but it was written by neither my hand, nor my brother's._

 _The homeland of the Faunus is the island of Menagerie, an island continent to the South of Anima. Though not necessarily "small" in the meaning of the word, most of the island is desert, and occupied by the dangerous spawn of my brother. To that end, most of the population lives on the coastline._

 _The head of state in Menagerie is the Chieftain of Menagerie. They possesses nominal absolute power, and most decisions that concern the island go through their desk at least once. That all said, he is answerable to the Council of Elders, a five member body of the most experienced officials on the island. They select the Chieftain, and can override his decisions should the situation call for it, and remove him from office as well. However, they generally avoid involving themselves in political affairs when they can._

 _Menagerie does not have much in the way of a true army, mostly due to a lack of resources to do so, and a lack of will. As the island has little in the way of natural resources, it is broadly beneath the notice of other states. Perhaps that is a blessing in disguise, as it allows them to find some form of sanctuary. But a sanctuary can just as easily be a prison, and that seems to be the way many Faunus see that island. And at that, they have acted accordingly._

 **Note: A guy mimicking a dragon getting his tail thrashed by a** real **dragon? Too good an opportunity to pass up. By the way, bare in mind that Qrow that never actually met Dr. Shade.**

 **I was originally going to do a thing with Blake, but then considered how her story went in Vol. 4, and figured to put it off a little longer. So I went with Weiss, and I'm happy with how things went for her; I do think it is within Shade's character at this point for him to act like that.. And it seems the scales have left her. There is a reason for that and the reason Ruby was able to finally transform again, and I think you can figure it out if you read more carefully in the story.**

 **Speaking of Ruby, concocting this fight before her transformation posed a bit of a challenge. Now, part of the reason DRKE was created in the first place was to differentiate it from canon, and to provide some variety, but since there are four antagonists in this duel instead of just one, the fight has to be approached differently. Last chapter it was a bit easier because it was four on four, but when you make it five on four (with the new one being a very skilled, very experienced fighter), the situation of course changes.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Just to reiterate, in case anyone's forgotten, the one narrating the** _ **WORs**_ **is the God of Light.**


	42. The Tale

_**The Tale**_

One thing that Kuo Kuana had over the other cities, was that there was much less light pollution, giving Blake a perfect view of stars. She was drawn back to what Dr. Shade once told her about how the stars always looked the same, whether you were human or Faunus. It may have been a small similarity, but she was reminded of something Shade once told her. He had told her that he didn't see any differences between humans and Faunus aside from cosmetic ones.

"All mortals are equally beneath me," had been his words. While that may not have been the best way to put it, the point had been made.

On that note, Blake still had to wonder where the Faunus came from. According the religion of the High Spirits, the Faunus were created by the Spirits to be the caretakers of the world they created. Of course, now Blake knew that the world was created by the Gods of Light and Darkness, as were humanity. Who created the Faunus then?

"Blake?" The teen was broken by the thoughts by the sound of her mother's voice. She glanced over, to see her mother coming over to her, carrying a tray with a teapot and some cups on it.

"Enjoying the stars?" Kali asked, as she came up next to her daughter, setting her tray on the railing.

"They aren't as bright in Vale as they are here," Blake answered, as she looked back up at the sky.

"I like to think that was the best thing about where we are now," Kali said, also looking into the sky, "Though I imagine the skyline looking over Vale could also be impressive too."

"Yes," Blake said, as her fingers curled into fists, "I suppose it could be…." Kali looked at her daughter, as she sighed slightly at her solemn attitude.

"You know," she said, smiling gently, "You never did answer my question about the cute boys in Beacon." Blake's breath hitched, as she flushed red.

"Well," she said, trying to think of an answer. Being completely honest, Blake's track record with the opposite gender was…. mixed, to say the least. Her first real relationship had been with Adam, and that obviously didn't end well. And beyond that, there honestly weren't that many boys she really knew. There was of course Sun, and while he was certainly a nice, well meaning guy, Blake wasn't sure if she felt about him that way. Then there was Jaune.

To Blake's surprise, remembering about Jaune actually made her think slightly. At one point, she would barely consider being in the same room as a human, let alone having one as a friend. As something more? It wasn't like Blake hadn't given it any real thought, especially after the dance, where she had the chance to really interact with him. He was without a doubt one of the nicest, most sincere people she had ever known. And he honestly wasn't that hard on the eyes either.

"A couple," Blake finally answered.

"Anyone I should know about?" Kali said. That made Blake's already red face go even brighter.

"No," she said, "Not yet at least."

"Not yet?" Kali echoed, "So there's a chance, then."

"Mom!" Blake cried. Kali just chuckled, as she suddenly picked the tray back up, and handed it to Blake.

"Here," she said, "Your father's going to need these to get through the night."

"What's he working on?" Blake asked.

"With the news about the White Fang, he's called a meeting of the Council of Elders," Kali explained, "He wants to put forth a movement to investigate them." Blake was initially happy to hear that; it meant that action was being taken against them. But then she thought about what the White Fang was capable of, and what they could do to her family.

As she approached the sliding door of her father's office, Blake took a breath. But before she could open the door, she heard voices on the other side of it.

"Honestly the most frightening part is that at first it seemed to be working," her father's voice said, "Sienna's violent tactics were producing results."

"And yet you were not satisfied with them," Shade's voice responded. That surprised Blake somewhat, not that her father would want to talk with Shade, but that Shade would want to talk to him.

"I couldn't accept it," Ghira said, "That fear was the solution to the Faunus' problems."

"Perhaps the fault is with that outlook," Shade said, "The idea that people can be moved by fear is in itself flawed."

"Well, perhaps," Ghira said, "Though Sienna seemed to sincerely believe in it."

"Perhaps she was wrong as well," Shade said. An uncomfortable chill went down Blake's spine at those words, as her scaled arm pulsed with pain. It took an active effort to not instinctively grab at her arm.

Suddenly the door slid open, and she looked up to see

"Hey Dad," Blake said, "What's going on here?"

"I was having a discussion with Dr. Shade, here," Ghira answered, gesturing to Shade, "He has some truly fascinating opinions on these matters."

"Thank you, my Lord," Shade answered with a nod.

"You don't need to call me that," Ghira said, waving his hand slightly as he sat back in his chair, "I'm not a lord."

"Of course," Shade said, though he clearly didn't really care about it, "Now I am afraid I must leave you with my daughter, I am needed elsewhere." With that he stepped out of the room, leaving Blake alone with her father.

Blake glanced back, as the doctor telekinetically lifted himself over the railing, and literally vanished into the darkness. The girl wasn't sure if she would ever get used to seeing that.

 **(in Mistral)**

RNJR stared at Qrow, as he finished his story, and if they were being completely honest, while they were surprised to learn, they weren't really impressed. They knew an all powerful creator god who bestowed with the power to turn into dragons; four woman who could use magic weren't that much by comparison. They were all assembled by a fire, while Dr. Shade was on the outskirts, staring into the darkness. Qrow's wound from Eve's arrow seemed superficial, so they just bandaged him up and kept moving on to make camp.

 _Did you know about these Maidens?_ Jaune asked Shade.

" **And if I did, what consequence would it be at this point?"**

"But now I've got to make sure I've got this straight," Qrow said, as he pulled his flask out, "You guys were the dragons of Vale?"

"… yeah," Ruby said slowly, "We were."

"And where the hell did you guys get this power?" her uncle demanded.

"Its… a long story," Nora said, "One you probably wouldn't believe."

"Try me." RNJR exchanged looks, before they all glanced at Shade.

" **Whatever you decided to say, it will be your choice."**

"We… can't tell you," Ruby said, "It's hard to explain, we just can't tell you, not yet at least." Qrow looked at his niece for a time, before taking another drink.

"Ozpin kept secrets too," he then said, "I trusted he had his reasons, so I'm going to trust you guys have your reasons, and those reasons are good." Ruby took a breath at that, happy that her uncle understood. She smiled at Jaune, who just sighed.

"So why were those guys after us?" Ruby asked changing the subject, "They said someone was paying them to do it."

"I'm pretty sure they don't matter," Qrow answered, swishing his flask, "They're just hired guns."

"So who hired them?" Ren asked.

"Was it Cinder?" Ruby asked, remembering the one Pyrrha defeated at Beacon.

"I wouldn't bet on that," Qrow answered, "If Cinder was the one calling the shots, they'd be going after Pyrrha. I've got good feeling about who it might've been."

"Who?" Jaune asked. That question sat dead in the air for a while, as Qrow stared at his flask, before taking a swig from it.

"Salem." At the mention of that name, Shade glanced back briefly, before returning his attention back to the darkness.

"Who's she?" Nora asked. Qrow's initial response was to down more of his booze, to his niece's visible annoyance.

"Any of you believers?" he asked.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Do you believe in any religion?" The group exchanged looks. How were they supposed to answer that when a god was literally standing in their presence.

"Sorta," Ruby answered, giving a half-truth.

"Well, then have I got a story for you." With that, Qrow dived into the story of the Two Brothers, the creation of humanity and the Grimm, and of the four Relics that existed across Remnant. How those who could gather the Relics would be able to "change the world". _That_ did impress them.

"That is not truly what happened." Everyone's attention went to Dr. Shade who was now facing them, looking directly at Qrow.

"Yeah, and who are you again?" Qrow demanded, "I've already phased you out."

"Someone with far greater knowledge than you on matters such as these," Shade answered, advancing on the fire, as he brought one of the sparks onto his fingers, which he quickly snuffed out, "And someone you should be listening to."

"Yeah sure, and why the hell should I trust you?" Qrow asked, glaring at him, "I don't know you."

"You can trust him," Ruby said firmly, causing her uncle to turn to her.

"Look kiddo," Qrow said, "I know he was your teacher…."

"He's more than that," Ruby interrupted, "He's a lot more than that."

"Like what?" Qrow said, eyeing the Faunus. There was a period of silence, as Shade looked at his students, who were averting their eyes.

"Show him." All eyes were suddenly on Ruby, as her words set in.

"Come again?" Shade asked.

"Show him who you really are," Ruby said firmly. Her friends and partner shifted in their spots at that.

"Ruby," Jaune said, leaning forward, "We can't…"

"He already knows that we have magic," Ruby said, "What's the point of hiding anything else?"

"Hold up!" Qrow said, holding up his hand, "What are you kids talking about?"

"Shade is much more than just our teacher," Ruby said, "Much, much, _much_ more." She then looked at the doctor again.

"I'm tired of keeping it from my family," she said, "Show him." Shade sighed.

"So be it then," he said, as he stepped towards Qrow.

"What you are about to see will destroy your entire worldview," the doctor said as his Aura began to glow, "Your comprehension of all that is will be completely shattered." At that, Qrow took another sip of his flask, before glaring at the "Faunus".

"Look buddy, I don't know where you're going with this, but…" He didn't finish as Shade transformed into a towering, glowing purple being with no facial features, who folded his arms behind his back. Qrow just stared for a good minute at the "thing" before him, before he did exactly what anyone else would've done in his situation.

"HOLY GODS!" he screamed as he instinctively scrambled back, only to bump into one of the rocks, which he started clambering up.

" **Yes, that is what I am,"** Darkness said.

 _World of Remnant: the Great War_

 _If one thing has come defined mortals, my brother would say it is their quarrels. And on that view, I find it hard to contest; ever since they learned that need to have more of something in order to survive, they stopped considering the prospect of "sharing" and "exchanging", only "taking". War became an integral part of their identity._

 _For me, the causes of the Great War are irrelevant. Mortals can and will invent any reason they need in order go to war. The conflict was fought between an alliance of Mantle and Mistral against Vale It lasted for ten years, and fighting raged all across the planet. It was a demonstration of both the best and worst of mortal-kind, as scientific ingenuity and acts of selfless kindness stood along with acts of sheer brutality and industrialized horror. Needless to say, the spawn of my brother were quite active in these times, though whenever they would strike during a battle, a ceasefire would be called, and the beasts exterminated so that the fighting could continue. It is telling of the mortals that they were able to start and stop fighting so easily._

 _Eventually, the alliance invaded Vacuo, an otherwise neutral country, hoping to cut off their enemy's supply of dust. It was then at the King of Vale, wielding his now legendary sword, took personal command of his armies, and lead the charge against the Mantle-Mistrali forces. In the decisive Battle of Vacuo, the two armies were defeated, and the defeated leaders knelt to victories monarch._

 _The end of the war saw the landscape of the world irrevocably changed. And though he was in the position to claim dominion over all of Remnant, the King of Vale instead used his authority to force changes throughout the land. Though he stopped short of forcing the other monarchs to abdicate, he made them abolish slavery, and redistribute their territories to forge a balance. He had the island of Menagerie gifted to the Faunus so as to build their own nation under the leadership of one of his closest advisors and allies, Ahmad Horus (the first Chieftain of Menagerie). To foster further unity, he built the four Huntsman Academies, and established the official position as "Huntsman". On a less important not, it became a rule for people to be named in some form or fashion after a color (for what reason I cannot imagine)._

 _The war left Remnant in ruin, and would define multiple generations to come. Despite the best efforts of many people to protect the peace, war was only a few acts away. At this point, I can only hope that it will simply be known as the "Great War", and not come to hold the epitaph: "first"._

 **Note: Bare in mind, World War I was originally called the "Great War" because no one could ever imagine a war on such a terrible scale. Of course, people were proven drastically wrong when only a couple decades later, one happened that was even worse….**

 **So Qrow now knows the truth of the God of Darkness. I'll dive deeper into my reasons why in the last chapter of Vol. 4 where I'll do another retrospective. You'll notice though that when Jaune asked him something, Shade answered.**

 **I knew I had to give Blake another scene soon, and I also wanted to bring up the possibility of Knightshade, to give it the same chance as the others. Something to keep in mind is that while we as the readers know that Spirits are real, Blake doesn't; as far as she knows, the only deities that exist are the Brothers. As to Blake remembering what Shade told her, we don't see every single event of every hour; there are gaps, such as between Mt. Glenn and the tournament starting.**

 **By the way, be assured, we will be seeing Oscar again before the volume's done. Of course there's not much to differentiate his story from canon this time, so that's why I'm not showing much of him.**

 **Be sure to review. I really enjoy writing this fic, and its always encouraging to be able to read your feedback.**


	43. The Truth

_**The Truth**_

It was not like anyone of RNJR blamed Qrow for his reaction, but that didn't mean it still wasn't at least a little funny. Of course they weren't inclined to laugh as Qrow scrubbing up a rock trying got get away from the giant purple that now stood before him.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called, "It's alright!"

"What the hell is he?" Qrow demanded, pointing.

" **I told you, I am a god,"** Darkness said **, "You were just speaking of me earlier."**

"Wait! What the hell are you talking about!" Qrow snapped, "You telling me you're one of the Brothers!"

" **Indeed, I am the God of Darkness,"** Darkness answered **, "One of the two creators of humanity."** Qrow didn't relax, but his breathing very gradually slowed..

"Why should I believe any of this?" he said, "Why should I trust you?"

"You can," Ruby promised, "Because we do."

"Hold up," Qrow said, "How long has he been here?"

"He first appeared not long before we came to Beacon," Ruby answered, "But he's been with Jaune the longest."

"Its a really long story," Jaune said, "But you should know, he's the one who gave us the power to turn into dragons." Qrow looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Darkness held up his hand before he could.

" **I understand how bewildered you are by all that has been revealed,"** he said **, "Rest assured, all your questions will be answered in time, but there are more immediate matters that must be addressed."**

"Yeah, like what?" Qrow said.

" **Foremost, the 'story' that you have told,"** Darkness said **, "It is broadly correct, but the account you have given…. It is incomplete."**

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"How the hell is it incomplete?" Qrow said, "Ozpin told me the whole thing."

"Who do you think has a better sense of what happened?" Nora asked, "The guy who probably just heart the story, or the one who was actual there doing it?"

"Point taken," Qrow said after a moment's pause.

" **I will give you all the true history of how humanity came to be,"** Darkness said **, "And of another, far older force that lurks in this world."** At that, he held his hand up to the fire, which turned a brilliant purple.

" **Though my brother indeed basks in the powers of Creation, but he never owned them. In the beginning, I made this world so as to study my own power of creation and destruction,"** the god explained, as the fire formed a perfect sphere that resembled a planet **, "A place I could experiment in all forms."** The ball floated over to Nora, who took the small world in her hands.

" **Then my brother came to this world, to what was** _ **my**_ **world, and filled it with his own creation. But we made an agreement so as to prevent the quarrel you speak of from breaking out: I would end what he made, so that he could make further things. A balance was struck between the two of us."**

"And then you created humanity, right?" Jaune said. Darkness looked at him, before looking at the fire, and clenching his fist. The orb Nora had suddenly burst into cinders, to her surprise.

" **No, something happened before that, something at my brother's hand,"** Darkness explained **, "He went too far, violated our agreement, and created something that never should have been…."**

"What did he create?" Ren asked. Darkness pointed towards the fire, and flicked his finger up. From the fire burst four colors of different light: one red, one silver, one blue, and one orange.

" **He created beings of pure creation and light, and he bestowed his power to create upon them; according to him, it was to steward and manage what he already made, but their actions spoke otherwise. They took the balance we had and tore it asunder. My brother and I had no names for them, but they would come to be known as the High Spirits."**

"The High Spirits," Jaune muttered, before he remembered something, "Aren't those the beings the Faunus worshipped."

" **Yes, but they are** not **to be worshipped,"** Darkness said sternly, looking towards Jaune.

"What do you mean?" Nora asked. The god flicked his wrist, as the orbs assumed ghostly forms, that seemed to be grinning.

" **Capricious, primeval forces, they are not to be trusted,"** he said, as the forms floated through the group. Ruby shifted in her seat as the silver one floated past her, giving her a sinister-looking smile

" **If they call to you, do not follow, for they will lead you astray."** Watching them pass, a chill went the length of Ren's spine as the orange one passed by and grinned at him, as a memory returned, one of a similar smile…. He couldn't dwell on the memory though as Darkness then snapped his fingers, and the forms all disappeared.

" **These things had no regard to the pact I had otherwise firmly stood by,"** he continued **, "I protested to my brother, destroyed all the ones I could, but they continued to return. So I decided that since our pact was essentially void, I might as well dip my own finger into the proverbial mix."**

"So you created the Grimm," Jaune murmured, "So that you could restore balance."

"This… this changes everything," Qrow muttered, holding his head with his hand. So all this time, the Grimm existed as a means of maintaining balance after the creations of the God of Light broke it, not simply as agents as evil; it turned the whole system on its head. However, the god was silent for a time at the mention of that.

" **Yes, but I will admit it was partly out of a desire for retribution against my brother for violating our pact,"** Darkness explained **, "Irregardless, my forces of destruction clashed with his forces of creation, until the two of us came to an understanding that neither of us would gain anything by letting this continue. So we decided to restore the balance by creating new beings that could both create and destroy: beings that would embody our agreement, that would embody our balance."**

"Humanity," Ruby murmured.

" **Exactly,"** Darkness answered. He then held up his hand, as a group of miniature humans appeared in it.

" **The humans were to be our final major creation,"** he said **, "They would take the world we made and make it their own, while we remained to offer them guidance and wisdom if they needed it."**

"So, why did you leave?" Ruby asked. The god looked straight at her at that.

" **A story for another time,"** he said firmly, indicating that it was not a topic to be pursued. Knowing better than to try and pry him on subjects like these, no one continued that line of thinking.

"So… these Spirits," Jaune said, "Are they still here?" Once again, Darkness was silent, as if the topic was uncomfortable for him, which was saying something considering his track record.

" **When my brother and I left, I had hoped they eventually disappeared or retreated to the shadows,"** he finally said **, "But I now I know that they remain on this world, seeking an agenda I do not know."**

"Wait, you don't know what they're doing?"Nora asked, "Aren't you a god? Don't you know everything?"

" **I am afraid I have no power over them,"** Darkness answered, looking towards Nora **, "They were created by my brother, and thus his power, and his alone dwells within them. I can destroy them, but that is the fullest extent of my capability. Any act they perform is also above my ability to undo beyond simply destroying it."** That thought made the mortals' heads spin slightly. To think, their creator, their _god_ had limits, _true_ limits.

"So… what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

" **You rest,"** Darkness answered **, "You still have a journey to complete. I will watch over you when I am able, and I will answer further questions when you reach your destination."**

 **(in Menagerie)**

Whenever Ilia did something morally objectionable, she would remember that it was for the sake of the Faunus. That always made things a bit easier. Granted something things were still hard, and even some of those things were harder than others. Spying on who was once her best friend and her family was one of those things.

The chameleon Faunus clenched her teeth, as she forced herself not to shift color upon seeing her friend (which was to say her crush) standing on the balcony. Though she tired not to snigger at the sight of her slapping the monkey Faunus clean across the face. But she shook her head clear, she had a job to do, as she focused on the two.

"Are the Belladonna's really so interesting?" Ilia yelped as she instinctively flinched, causing her to lose her grip on the tree, and her to fall to the ground. Essentially unhurt, she looked up to see what looked like a very tall ram Faunus in a black suit floating down to her level. The chameleon was somewhat bewildered how he was able to sneak up on her, let alone see her while she was camouflaged. As he landed on the ground, an inexplicable shiver went up Ilia's spine at the way the darkness seemed to gather around him. Ilia suddenly shifted to a an amber color.

"Who the hell are you?" Ilia hissed, trying not to make much more noise.

"My name is Dr. Shade, and I have a vested interest in Ms. Belladonna's wellbeing. So you can forgive my suspicions of a stranger watching her from the shadows." Ilia hissed at that, as she leapt into the shadows, not intent on explaining herself to anyone, let alone a stranger in a suit. However, she only got a few feet before she was frozen in mid air.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Shade said, arching an eyebrow, as he pulled her back into position. He then flicked his finger, sending Ilia's mask tumbling away.

"I'm not here to hurt Blake or her family," she finally answered, "I was just watching them."

"And the mask enhances your vision I suppose?" Shade answered. That officially marked the end of all the talking, Ilia wanted to do, as she pulled out Lighting Lash, and thrust it the doctor, who easily leaned out of the way.

"Oh, are we dueling now?" he asked, clearly completely disinterested in what was about to happen. With a yell, Ilia lashed out again, only for Shade to redirect the whip away. She turned black again in an attempt to hide in the darkness. But as she tried to escape, she was caught again by Shade's telekinesis.

"Do not try and hide from me in the shadows," Shade said plainly, as he rolled his eyes before flicking his wrist, bringing her back, "It is an exercise in futility."

"Why are you doing this?" Ilia demanded, as she pulled herself to her feet, "What does it have to do with you?"

"I told you, I have a vested interest in Ms. Belladonna's wellbeing," Shade answered plainly, as he held up his hand to continue the "fight", "And at the moment, I have reasonable suspicion that you may be threatening that well being? Are you?" Ilia opened then closed her mouth.

"Well, that serves as ample confirmation," Shade said, as he flicked his wrist, sending a sizable rock Ilia's way, which she just managed to dodge. That was when Blake and Sun appeared, attracted by the commotion.

"We heard something going on!" Sun said, "What's…" He stopped as Blake stopped dead in her tracks.

"Ilia?" she asked. Ilia locked eyes with Blake, as she cringed.

"So you do know this child?" Shade said.

"She's…" Blake stopped there, she would say "friend", but wasn't not sure what tone to use, present or past.

"She's from the White Fang," she finally settled on saying.

"I deduced that a while ago," Shade answered.

"Seriously?" Sun asked rubbing his head, "Is it something wrong with us? Is that why the White Fang are always around?" Blake and Ilia stared each other down, as the latter turned a brilliant shade of red. She then narrowed her eyes at Blake, before pointing her weapon at Blake.

"Ilia, why are you here?" Blake said, "What's going on?" The chameleon continued to stare her down, before taking a breath and looking down.

"You shouldn't have come back," she said softly, as she held up Lighting Lash. Blake instinctively got ready to fight, only for Ilia to lash it against the ground, kicking up the dust. When it faded she was gone.

"Would you like me to retrieve her?" Shade asked, as he held up his hand.

"No," Blake said after a moment's pause, "She won't tell us anything even if we catch her." The doctor then looked towards the cat.

"I believe a little further explanation may be in order," he said, to which Blake averted her gaze.

 **(in Mistral)**

Drago let out a grunt, as Eve tended his injuries.

"Watch it!" he hissed.

 _Hold still_ , Eve signed as she glared at her team leader, before she continued wrapping the bandages. DRKE was making camp a few miles from the village, trying to process what had happened. In the list of things they had prepared for, one of the teens becoming a dragon wasn't on the list.

"So what do we do now?" Rina asked, from her position leaning on a tree, "We can't take on a dragon."

"We keep tracking them," Drago grumbling through the pain, "But we maintain our distance. I remember Watts telling us we could get our payment in Mistral, we'll tell him there."

"The pompous ass'll probably dock our payment for that," Krieg griped from his rock.

"Most likely," Drago responded, "But I'm not going to risk our lives fighting against one of the dragons of Vale. You saw what it can do, and for all we know, the others might be around as well."

 _You're putting our lives over four billion Lien?_ Eve asked.

"Well, yeah."

 _Cheapskate,_ she signed with a roll of the eyes. Drago couldn't help but chuckle at that, as he shoved Eve slightly.

"Get some rest," he said, "We strike out after them at first light."

 **(with Team RJNJR)**

With Darkness gone, the group had elected to take his advice and get some sleep now, to the extent they could sleep with all this new information.

As they were doing so, a ghostly white shape slithered into the camp, before it hovered beside Ruby. It then materialized into a vaguely humanoid form, as a grinning mouth appeared, before it bent down, and whispered something into her ear. The girl stirred slightly, before her eyes opened. However, they were completely, and utterly blank. Ruby then slowly rose to her feet, completely entranced, and walked away from camp….

 _World of Remnant: Faunus Rights Revolution_

 _Frankly, I do not understand the reason for the conflict between the Faunus and the humans, the differences are minimal. And yet it persists nonetheless in one form or another. Their origin also continues to allude me; they were not made by either my brother or myself._

 _They remained under the boot of the humans for generations, until the Great War, after which the King of Vale forced the abolition of slavery, freeing the Faunus, and the Empress of Mistral ceded the island of Menagerie to the Faunus. However, that proved insufficient, as many Faunus remained suppress across the planet._

 _Eventually, if not inevitably, the Faunus revolted against their overlords, beginning what it is referred to as the "Faunus Rights Revolution" (a somewhat overcomplicated name in my opinion, and I prefer the term "Faunus War"). It was a violent conflict, where the Faunus waged a guerrilla war against the forces of humanity; most of the fighting was done on Saunus and Anima, and consisted of the Faunus launching raids of varying scale against human installations._

 _The culminating point was where an inexperienced human general attempted a night offensive, only for the night-vision of the Faunus to give them the edge in the battle, which they decisively won. That allowed them advance on the Mistrali city of Kuchinashi virtually unopposed; however, when the city wouldn't open their gates, they breached it by force. Many noncombatants were killed in the sack of the city, but the Faunus achieved their goal, and were able to dictate their terms to the other nations._

 _Though they won their revolution, and attained nominal equality, but the humans were not so willing to accept such a thing. Discrimination persists across the planet to this day, and violence between the groups does as well. I do not expect much else from mortals; they approach coexistence and peace as if it something that is to be forced or achieved, rather than built and maintained._

 **Note: Ruby's in trouble, and I think we can guess who's responsible.**

 **I got some leave for Thanksgiving, so I'm taking it as an opportunity to do some more writing. We're in the latter half of Vol. 4 now, and we're nearing the confrontation with the Grimm. I'm probably not going to show Ren's flashback, because there wouldn't be anything to add. This chapter was shorter, but most of them probably will be shorter as well for a time.**

 **This chapter was one big thing of exposition, basically Darkness' view on the story Qrow tells. A concept in many religions that have more than one deity, is that one has little dominion over the field of another. For example, Zeus could manipulate the weather, but he couldn't manipulate the oceans, because that was Poseidon's domain.**

 **I both really like and dislike Ilia as a character. I do like her design, ability, fighting style, and the arc she goes through (it's helped that she's got the same voice as one of my favorite female anime characters). However, she mostly served to be an angry foil to Blake, and she's never really confronted with the cost of life that her actions caused (none of the White Fang characters really are when yo think about it). One way or another, I fully intend on giving her a greater role in the story. But unfortunately due to Shade's presence, I couldn't realistically do her brief skirmish with Blake in this story.**

 **Little thing at the end, I altered the Faunus Revolution slightly. I reject the idea that the Faunus Revolution consisted of no atrocities on the Faunus' side; they are just as capable of violence and cruelty as humans.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	44. Get Back Up

_**Get Back Up**_

Jaune wasn't entirely sure why he woke up. He was certainly tired going to sleep, and was tired getting up, but nonetheless he found himself stirring. He glanced around the camp, noticing Qrow sleeping against a tree with Ren and Nora lying beside each other. Jaune then looked towards Ruby's sleeping bag noticing that he was empty.

"Ruby?" he asked, as he got up and looked around, not seeing her anywhere, "Ruby?"

"Jaune?" Nora asked, as she and Ren woke up as well, "What's wrong?"

"Ruby's gone!" Jaune said, as he looked around, before running into the forest, "Ruby!" Nora and Ren weren't far behind him in that.

Strangely, however, Qrow remained asleep. As he did, the glowing white form reappeared, as a hand materialized from it. It then briefly tapped a finger on the bandage where Qrow was stuck with Eve's arrow. The man stirred uncomfortably, but remained asleep.

Meanwhile, Ruby numbly walked through the trees, her eyes completely empty. As she did so, she slowly reached up….

 _(/)_

 _Ruby slowly made her way through the forests on Patch, trying to follow the sound of what seemed like playing. She couldn't pin point where it was coming from exactly, rather it seemed to be coming from all around her._

 _As she walked, what looked like glowing butterflies fluttered around her. She lifted her hand up, also one of them landed on her finger. When she rose her hand, though, she noticed that when wasn't her normal clothes; rather she was wearing her bathing suit._

 _Continuing to follow the sound, Ruby eventually emerged from the trees. She saw a small ravine in front of her, and when she glanced down, she noticed her father and sister down there, playfully brawling in a small pool._

 _But the one Ruby took the most notice of was a woman who looked almost exactly like her, only wearing a silver version of her own swimsuit with slightly longer hair. Ruby quickly recognized the woman as being very similar to the fourth member of Team STRQ._

" _Mom…"_

 _(/)_

"Ruby!"

"Ruby!" RNJR kept calling for their teammate, but she was still nowhere to be seen. The situation wasn't helped by them trying to do this at night. They couldn't find any tracks to follow, meaning they were resigned to just shuffling in the dark to try and find the girl-in-red.

"Why is she doing this?" Nora asked.

"I don't freaking know!" Jaune answered, probably sounding harsher than he wanted, but he didn't really care. Considering what was happening, he had a right tot be irritable.

"There she is!" Ren said, pointing. The two looked looked through the trees to see Ruby slowly walking forward… towards a cliff.

"RUBY!" Jaune and Nora both called, as they all started running towards her.

 _(/)_

" _Come on, sweetie!" Summer called, waving from the water, "Don't you want to come swim with us?" Ruby did want to, she really did. She then started to step forward, as she smiled, only to hesitate._

" _What's wrong Rubes!" Yang called, "You scared or something?"_

" _Yang!" Summer scolded, "Don't make fun of your sister like that!"_

" _Sorry Summer," Yang said with a smile. That made Ruby's own smile slip away. Yang very rarely ever referred to Summer as anything other than "Mom"…. The girl in red took a step back._

" _Where're you going?" Tai called, "Aren't you going to come with us?" Ruby just slowly shook her head "no". That was when her family's gazes all turned to stone, before they seemed to fade away into a white mist. That mist then billowed up to her, before seeming to coalesce into a vaguely human form._

"You think escaping me is that easy?" _it hissed in what sounded like all of her family's voices merged into one. That was when Ruby felt someone push her slightly…._

 _(/)_

The girl gasped awake to find herself staring down a massive drop. She also felt a pair of arms around her chest, as they heaved her away from the cliff. Ruby fell to the ground, and she looked up to find Jaune leaning over her.

"Ruby!" he said, "Are you alright?"

"I….," Ruby tried to say, as she looked around her. She certainly wasn't at camp anymore; rather she was and Jaune were beside a cliff with the sheer drop she nearly threw herself off of. The sun as starting to gradually peak over the horizon, as Ren and Nora stood beside them.

"What's going on?" Jaune demanded, "Are you crazy?" Ruby just looked up at Jaune silently, before her chin slowly began to quiver. Knowing what this meant, Jaune's face softened as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, as the girl began crying, burying her face in Jaune's chest.

"It's okay," he said softly as he rubbed her back, "It's okay."

 **(on Patch)**

It had taken a few personal kicks in her rear, but Yang finally decided to give the prosthetic a try. On her father's insistence, she started practicing with it further. To her surprise, it felt much more natural than she though it would; she _almost_ could've forgotten it was a fake arm. "Almost" being the optimum word.

At the time, she was sparring with her father, mostly to get the sense of fighting with the prosthetic instead of just using it normally. To hide her scaled arm, the blonde was wearing some bandages. Yang ducked under her father's arm, and tried to do an uppercut, only for him to catch her fist.

"Same old, same old, huh?" Tai said, before letting her go, and allowing his daughter to jump back. Yang than sprung at him again, trying to be faster, though Tai managed to sidestep the attack without much issue.

"Don't try and and rely on speed," Tai said, "That's never been your thing."

"You keep on telling me to try new fighting methods," Yang said, as she dusted herself off.

"Yes, but I also want you to focus on the ones that work," Tai said, "Ruby is nowhere near as strong as you are, but you'd never be able to outmaneuver her. That's why you've always worked well as a team. Besides, let your little sister have something for once." Yang frowned playfully, before she got ready to keep fighting.

"He is right, you know." Both of them suddenly looked up to see Dr. Shade leaning on the tree. He was wearing a dark purple t-shirt with black shorts. With his pale skin and him being out in the middle sun, if he were anyone else, Yang would've wondered why he wasn't sunscreen.

"How did you get here?" Tai asked.

"I walked," Shade answered simply, as he boosted himself off the tree with his Semblance, and then turned to Yang to say, "Now perhaps Ms. Xiao Long would benefit from sparring with me now." That was clearly not a request, it was a command. While Yang wasn't at all inclined to refuse a command from the God of Darkness, even if he was in a mortal avatar. Her father on the other hand…

"That won't be necessary," Tai said, stepping forward, "I've got a handle on this."

"Perhaps," Shade answered, as he walked forward, letting Tai take in his notably greater height, "But I imagine she has sparred with you quite a bit in the past. To that end, she likely is completely used to her form of fighting. As for myself…" While Tai wasn't inclined to let a guy who was still technically a stranger spar with his daughter, he supposed Shade hadn't given him any incentive to distrust him like that. And he was standing right there to intervene if he needed to anyway. At any rate, Shade did have a point in saying that the Yang could benefit from fighting a new kind of opponent.

"Well, take it away then," he said, standing back.

 _I can't beat you!_ Yang protested, but again received no response. Instead, Shade stood in front of Yang, his arms folded behind his back.

"Try and strike me," he said, gesturing. Knowing he probably wouldn't take "no" for an answer, Yang took a breath, and a fighting pose. She then leapt at him, only for Shade to easily side step her. Clenching her teeth, the blonde turned on her heel, and tried to punch again, only for the punch stop inches from Shade's face.

"Your moves are completely predictable," Shade said, as he turned on his own heels, and calmly walked away. With a grunt, Yang fell to her knees as the telekinesis broke. Getting frustrated, Yang leapt to her feet, and leapt at Shade again. Once again, the Faunus easily avoided her, before sticking out of his foot, tripping the blonde.

Now starting to get angry, Yang let out yet another grunt, as she charged at him again. This time, Shade just stepped to the side, and with her momentum, Yang started to trip, before Shade's telekinesis caught her before she could face plant. Tai chuckled slightly, as he shook his head slightly at her.

"I think my point is made," Shade said, as flicked her wrist, bringing Yang back to her feet.

"Yeah, so what if they are predictable," Yang grumbled as she sat down, "What matters is I win, right?"

"It is never that simple," Tai said from the sidelines folding his arms, "You know that."

"She should," Shade added, "Better than most I would guess. While I was watching your fight, you relied very heavily on your Semblance."

"So?" Yang griped, glaring up at the doctor, "Its my Semblance, everyone does that."

"Not everyone's Semblance is like your own," Shade responded, "It relies on you releasing all that energy you stored up in a single strike."

"Well… it's worked up until now. What's the problem?"

"What if you miss?" Shade said plainly, "You will have to fight with a depleted Aura, and a beaten body." Yang chewed on her lip, as she clenched and unclenched her mechanical fingers.

"You must adapt in regards to the situation," the doctor continued, as he held up his hand, telekinetically bring Yang to her feet, "If you rely entirely on one tactic in every fight, you will not develop as a fighter, and when you inevitably encounter the opponent that can counter you, you will be defeated."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Tai said, impressed by the doctor's words.

"You have many other potential tactics in battle," Shade continued, folding his arms behind his back. Yang knew what he was referring to, though she sure as hell couldn't tell her father her most prominent "potential tactic".

"I would recommend finding clarity in all things before you act," Shade said, before glancing at the sky, "I am afraid I am now needed elsewhere. I leave with this wisdom." With that, he calmly walked away, folding his arms behind his back.

"I think I like him," Tai said, "He's got a lot to say."

"Trust me," Yang added, as she rolled her shoulder, "When he wants, he can _really_ talk."

 **(on Argus)**

Pyrrha stared at the sky, counting the clouds, from her family's backyard. It was a decent yard as they want, with a lawn, a garden, and some lawn chairs. Pyrrha was sitting on one of those chairs, one hand absentmindedly on her missing leg, with the package containing her prosthetic beside her.

"The sky will not disappear," Shade's voice suddenly said, "You do not need to spend all hours watching it."

"Why are you here" Pyrrha asked slowly, not bothering to look at him.

"To speak with you, naturally," Shade answered plainly, as he summoned up one of the chairs, and sat across from her, "Why have you not yet tried the prosthetic?"

"I don't want to," Pyrrha said bluntly. That actually seemed to surprise Shade slightly, who looked at her carefully.

"Why?"

"Because I don't deserve it," Pyrrha answered flatly, keeping her eye on the sky.

"Is that so?" Shade said, as he tapped a finger on the table, "Why?"

"Because I failed," Pyrrha said, "I couldn't stop Cinder, I couldn't save Beacon. All I got out of it was a missing leg." Shade stared at her for a time, as he held up a finger. Pyrrha suddenly found herself being made to look at him.

"Literally everything you said is completely incorrect," the doctor then said, "You did defeat Cinder. You may have lost a limb, but you sent her plummeting over the side of Beacon Tower. Do you think she walked away from that fight feeling victorious?" Pyrrha opened and closed her mouth at that, as she looked at her missing leg.

"I still couldn't save Beacon," she then said.

"You failed to save some buildings," Shade answered, "Imagine how many more lives would have been lost if not for you." Pyrrha's fist clenched, as she put her hand on her stump.

"You are looking for reasons to blame yourself for what happened," Shade said, stating the obvious, "But you are blameless in what happened. You must understand that." He then stood up.

"You have a choice here," the Faunus said, "Either you can continue to remain here and blame yourself, wallowing in your misery, or you can take action to prevent what happened in Beacon from ever happening again." He then turned to walk away.

"But… I'm not strong enough," Pyrrha said, as she leaned up from her chair.

"How strong you are in this situation is also your own choice," Shade said, before departing. As he left though, he flicked his wrist. The note than floated off the table, into Pyrrha's lap. The red-head picked it up, and looked at it, the letter from her fans. She looked up to ask Shade something, only to see he was gone.

Realizing that she couldn't run from this (no matter how much she wanted) Pyrrha then sucked in her breath, and opened up the letter….

 _Dear Pyrrha_

 _When we heard about what happened we were all really scared. We were scared that you wouldn't be able to fighting anymore with only one leg. So we decided to try and send you a new one! Though it may take a while of you get back on your feet, we aren't worried, because we know how tough you are. You'll be back up and beating up the bad guys in no time! :)_

 _Love,_

 _your fans_

 _XOXO_

It took a moment for Pyrrha to realize she was crying as she looked at the names that were on the letter. To think, after all this, she still had so many people who idolized her, who saw her as someone to emulate. And here Pyrrha was, lazily sitting in her backyard, letting them all down….

Is this who Pyrrha Nikos was? Was this the girl Thetis and Peleus raised? The girl pouting in her home, feeling sorry for herself?

 _No!_

Pyrrha then wiped her tears away, and grabbed the prosthetic out of its box.

 **(in Mistral)**

Finally, RNJR made their way back to their camp. Ruby was staring at the ground, trailing in the back. She kept telling Jaune was fine, but neither he, nor Ren and Nora, believed that for a second.

"We're back!" Jaune called for Qrow, but received no answer.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby called, looking around, still receiving no answer at first. But then they heard a familiar groan, albeit a very pained one. They looked over and saw Qrow laying against a tree, holding his shoulder.

"Qrow!" Ruby cried as she ran over to her uncle. She didn't answer as Qrow kept groaning in his seat.

"What is it?" Nora asked.

"Was there poison on the arrow?" Ren asked. Ruby made Qrow move his hand, as she looked at the wound. Looking at it, it didn't look poisoned, or even really infected. Rather, it seemed to literally glow a bizarre turquoise. A terrifying realization then struck her…

"This isn't poison," she said softly, "It's magic."

 _World of Remnant: (sorry, no WOR this chapter)_

 **Note: I kind of had to rack my brain to find something for the WOR this chapter; I couldn't think of anything at the time. Hopefully I'll have something for next chapter.**

 **So Pyrrha's finally pulling herself fabric to her feet (both literally and metaphorically). I thought it was fitting for her character and status as the champion of Mistral to get pushed back up by her fans. Yang's also getting there as well.**

 **I'm going to let the scene with Ruby speak for itself. But seriously, there's family resemblance, and there's reproducing via parthenogenesis. I think Summer did the latter…**

 **Be sure to review.**


	45. Escape

**_Escape_**

Oscar took another look back at what had been his home for a long time. He could only hope that his aunt would understand why. It wasn't like he could really explain what was going on; there was no way the poor woman could ever really understand what Oscar was going through. And Oz had insisted that he could not be doing her any favors staying at home too.

" _Don't worry,"_ Oz said _, "I doubt that will be the last time you see her."_ Oscar didn't say anything, as he tore his eyes away from the farmhouse, and continued walking. As he did, he glanced up, and noticed weather gathering overhead.

"Seriously?" he grumbled.

" _Trust me, it could be much worse,"_ Oz answered. Oscar made it the local train station, where he pulled out his card. However, when he did, it showed "insufficient" funds.

"Dang, I take you don't have the power to magically create more money?" Oscar asked. Oz chuckled at that, but suddenly stopped.

" _Be on guard."_ Oscar glanced up at that, to see three tall figures walking past him. One was a towering figure in a cloak, with his face obscured by what looked like a metal mask. The other was a tall man with dark skin, and a green coat. The last was a man in a brown trench coat with a braid that resembled a scorpion tail.

" _Let them pass, don't call attention to yourself,"_ Oz said slowly. The three men walked past the teen, as he glanced up. The cloaked figure didn't even seem to acknowledge Oscar's presence while the braided man glanced at Oscar and gave him a slight sneer. That just left the man in green who stopped in front of Oscar. He then held up his fist….

"Ah!" Oscar said, instinctively holding up his hands in defense, only for the man to slam his fist onto the machine. At that, a ticket promptly spat itself out. Though confused, Oscar bent down to pick it up.

"Thanks," he said, not sure what else to say.

"Never let such a small obstacle stand in your way," the large man rumbled as he kept walking.

"You're too nice," the thin man hissed. The larger man just ignored him while the cloaked one continued to walk like nothing had even happened. The thin man just glanced back at Oscar, and grinned at him, his eyes flashing purple.

"Who were those guys?" Oscar asked softly as the men walked back into the rain.

" _Dangerous men,"_ Oz answered _, "That is the most you need to know of them."_

 **(in the Land of Darkness)**

Cinder stumbled back, as she panted. She quickly got back to her feet, and ignited both her hands. Standing before her was both Magenta and Crane.

"Hehehe," Magenta said, as she perched atop a structure like cat, her tail flicking behind her, "And here I thought Maidens were tough. This is no fun." Crane stood beside the structure, silent, his arms folded.

"You are hesitating," Salem's oily voice said as the witch lurked in the shadows at the edge of the arena they were in, "Why? You were the one who craved this power so much." Cinder clenched her teeth, before creating a sword out of flames, and launching at Crane, who easily sidestepped her. The Maiden tried to counter, only to get aside by Magenta.

"Hahaha!" the Faunus cackled, "That never gets old!" Crane, once again, was silent, as he charged at Cinder. The girl quickly rose to her feet, and managed to parry his punch, and dodge his kick, before cloaking her hand in fire, and slamming it into Crane's gut. This sent the masked-man tumbling back, but he quickly recovered, and took his fighting stance again.

Magenta then pounced at Cinder, as she dealt some mid-air kicks at the girl, who managed to block most of them, save for the last, which caught her in the chin. The kick, feeling unnaturally strong for a woman of otherwise average stature, caused Cinder to tumble away. This actually got Cinder mad, as she summoned up a large ball of fire, and thrust it at Magenta. The Faunus held up her hands, as the fire pushed her away, but didn't send her tumbling back the same way.

"That's enough," Salem said, holding up her hand. That certainly got all three fighters to stop.

"Crane, Magenta, thank you for your time," she said, as she approached them. Both of them taking the hint, the two left the room, leaving Salem alone with Cinder.

"You must have confidence in this power if you are to use it," Salem explained, "The usage of magic has always been based on will power." Cinder nodded in understanding.

"But will is rather useless when you have no sense of where to direct it," Salem continued, "You need to know what you want to do, where you want it to happen, when you want it to happen, and who you want it to happen to." She then looked towards Cinder.

"Now tell me, who do you want it to happen to?" Cinder looked away, as her hand clenched into a fist.

 **(with RNJR)**

"Wait a minute!" Nora said, "How do you know this is magic?"

"Look at it," Ruby said, gesturing, "Does that look like a normal injury?" Nobody could argue with that, and now that Ruby mentioned that, there was a strange sensation coming from it. It was similar, but not the same as Darkness power.

" **This is indeed magic,"** Darkness said, as he suddenly appeared before them **, "I sense my brother's power within it."**

"Your brother?" Jaune asked.

"Does this is have anything to do with my dream?" Ruby asked.

" **Your dream?"** Ruby quickly explained the vision she had, and the form she had seen at the end of it. Darkness looked at her for a time, as his hands turned into fists.

" **What you encountered was a Spirit,"** he said dangerously. That got everyone's attention pretty quickly.

"That was a Spirit?" Ruby asked. She wasn't sure really what she had expected from them, but the form of a ghostly white being in her dreams? That really wasn't one of them.

"What would it want with Ruby? Or with Qrow?" Ren asked.

" **I do not know,"** Darkness answered **, "They are mercurial and conniving, and I doubt even my brother can truly deduce their goals."**

"Can you help him?" Ruby asked. Darkness fell to one knee, as he held up his hand to the wound. Magical energy swirled in the space between them, as a slight glowing fluid floated out of the injury.

" **As I told you, I cannot undo the spells of my brother's creation,"** he explained **, "The most I can do is extract the worst of their magic, though the blight itself is still present."**

"So… what do we do?" Ruby asked, her voice having a slight tremor to it.

" **The attack may be tainted by magic, but it can still be healed by science,"** Darkness said **, "You must make your way to Mistral, or your uncle will pass on."** A deep chill went down Ruby's spine at the thought…

 **(in Atlas)**

Weiss gave a quick glance down the hallway, before she slowly tiptoed out, carrying her suitcase behind her. She was quickly greeted by her butler, who ushered her down the hall, towards the library, where Weiss would be able to make her escape. Once she got out the manor, she was going to make it to the landing pad, and make her way to Mistral, where Darkness had told her that her friends were going there.

While Weiss would've been glad to simply turn into a dragon, and fly to Mistral, she doubted she could maintain the transformation for that long. At any rate, while she could certainly fly at this point, it had been a while since she did it last, and wasn't 100% confident her ability to do it for that long.

As they were going, Klein suddenly stopped, as his scroll buzzed.

"Master Whitley! I… um… yes, of course. I'l be just a moment." He put his scroll away, and looked to Weiss.

"Go to the first floor library, I'll meet you there," Klein hissed. Weiss nodded in understanding, as she kept creeping down the hall. However, as she did, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"That old fool. I have to do everything myself!" Weiss winced as she recognized the sound of her brother. Glancing down the hall, she saw Whitley strolling down it, his eyes on his Scroll. Weiss hid behind the corner, as she tried to consider her options.

 _Damn it!_ she swore in her mind.

" **Such language is not suitable for a woman of your status."** Recognizing that voice, Weiss quickly look up..

"Ah, Mr. Schnee!" a similar voice called. That made Whitley stop, as he glanced over to see Dr. Shade advancing down the hall.

"Who are you?" Whitley demanded, frowning at the newcomer.

"I am Dr. Shade, a tutor to your sister," Shade said, giving a respectful bow. Weiss would've laughed, considering how Whitley should technically have been the one bowing (which was to say, scraping at Shade's feet).

"I have been a looking for the chance to speak with you," Shade continued, "Your sisters are quite well spoken. I imagine you are just as, if not more so."

"Is that so?" Whitley said, looking Shade up and down, "Well, I'm afraid I must decline." He turned to continue walking, only for the doctor to flick his wrist, causing Whitley to face him.

"I must insist," Shade answered, "Surely a young man such as yourself would have a great wealth of opinions on all matters." Quickly putting it together, Weiss quickly hurried away past the hall the two were in, leaving them behind.

 _Thank you!_ she said.

" **Be quick."**

Soon, Weiss made it into the library, where she panted, putting her hand on her chest. She was quickly met by Klein.

"Are you sure Mistral is safe?" Klein asked.

"More sure than I've been in a long time," Weiss answered with a firm nod. The butler looked at the young woman for a time, before sighing, and nodding in understanding.

"There will always be a place for you here, no matter what your father says," he declared.

"Thank you Klein," Weiss said, giving him a smile.

"Anything for you, m'Lady." With that, the girl slipped away into the embrace of the shadows. When she was younger, she had the usual fear of the dark, but now, being in the dark was somehow more comforting than being in the light….

 **(in Argus)**

Pyrrha let out a soft battle cry as she kicked out with her prosthetic; she then punched out, before bending down, spinning on her hand and kicking out. She then flipped back, blocking before punching the air again, and letting out another kick. She then held up her hands, activating her Semblance, and summoning Milo and Akouo back to her hands. She then thrust out with Milo in spear form, before switching it to sword form and slashing up, before switching it back to a spear, and thrusting down into the ground. She then threw Akouo out, causing it to hit a try, and bounce back into her hands, and Pyrrha finished off by then throwing Milo into the tree, as it pierced straight through.

"Amazing, sweetie!" Thetis said, as she clapped slightly. She and her daughter were back in the park during the evening, where less people were out and about. Pyrrha had her haired tied back up, and was wearing her tiara again. She had swapped out her old breastplate for a bronze cuirass, and also had a set of bronze shoulder pads and gauntlets. Her leg were also covered with a knee-high bronze boot, and she had painted her prosthetic bronze.

"Thank you," Pyrrha answered, as she flexed her mechanical leg, "It really does feel natural." She then walked over to retrieve Milo from the tree.

"So you're sure you want to do this?" Thetis asked.

"Completely," Pyrrha answered firmly, as she stored her weapon and shield. Thetis was silent for a moment, before she took a breath and smiled.

"You just promise to be safe out there," she said. Pyrrha returned the smile, as she walked over, and hugged her mother.

"Thanks, Mom," she said.

"There they are! I've been looking all over for you!" Both Nikos women winced at the sound of Dana's voice. The Faunus fluttered down to their level, before folding her wings behind her.

"You got a replacement?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," Pyrrha said, remembering Dana's "advice" to not get one. Dana's brow furrowed at the sight, before she sighed and shrugged.

"Eh, no matter," she said, "We can frame it better. You can be the big comeback! Talk shows all over Remnant will want to interview you! You can…"

"Dana," Pyrrha interrupted.

"Yes?"

"You're fired." Those words sat heavily in the air for a time, as Dana stared at her now former client. With that, Pyrrha turned on her heel and walked away.

"Huh?" was all the agent could say.

"She said you're fired," Thetis repeated, before following her daughter, "Thank's for everything."

"Wait! Wait!" Dana tried to say, holding up arms, "Think about this, we…"

"I thought about this quite a bit, thank you," Pyrrha answered, only looking back slightly, before waving behind her. With that, she left the damselfly to just balk in the middle of the street

 _World of Remnant: (sorry, none this chapter)_

 **Note:So we finally see Oscar again. I figure this was a little overdue. I was originally going to do a WOR about the SDC, but time was running out, so I decided to put it off to next chapter.**

 **So Weiss is going off to into the wild blue yonder, and Pyrrha's just told her agent off (that was fun to write). Also, Qrow's condition seems to have gone down hill pretty quickly.**

 **I realize this was the first time we actually get a scene with Whitley in this story. I'm not overtly fond of Whitley in the story, but not necessarily for the purposeful reasons, if that makes any sense. I dislike him because his only real role in the story as it stands is to be another obstacle to Weiss (and to a lesser extent, Winter) in her narrative; you could cut him from the story, and probably not lose much right now. I'm hoping Vol. 7 and onward fleshes him out more, and gives him an actual character.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	46. The Past is Present

_**The Past is Present**_

"Oh Ilia," Kali said, "That poor girl doesn't know what she's getting herself into." She was sitting with her family and Sun around the dining table, Blake having just briefed her parents on what had happened with Ilia. Shade stood in the background, leaning on a wall.

"We can't let this fly!" Sun said, "We've gotta do something!"

"For once I agree with him," Ghira growled, "First they lie to us about Vale, and now they're trying to spy on us?" His hands clenched into fists.

"There must be consequences," he declared.

"Keep your heads on," Kali scolded, holding up her hand, "We need to think this through before doing anything."

"That is true, but your time is finite," Shade spoke up, as he held up his hand. The tea kettle floated into the air, as it poured cups for each of the group, as one floated into Shade's hand.

"It is clear that the White Fang has a clear objective in mind right now, and a clear sense of how to do so," he said, as he took a sip, "If you do not act soon, then they will first." During this whole thing, Blake had been quiet, just staring at her hands.

"I will summon the Council of Elders," Ghira said, "If we can get their support, they can force the White Fang to stand down." Blake honestly had her doubts that any of them would listen to the Council at this point. Being honest, between the support they already had and the _lack_ of general support the Belladonnas had, trying to confront and force the White Fang to acquiesce would likely fail. No, they couldn't beat the White Fang using force like this.

"We're going to take them down!" Sun declared, pumping his fist.

"No," Blake suddenly said firmly which got everyone to look at her.

"The problem's not the White Fang," she explained, "Its with the people who hijacked its message and turned it into what it needs now."

"So what do you intend on doing?" Shade asked. The cat clenched her fists as she stared out into the night; for the first time since Beacon fell, she knew _exactly_ what to do.

"We're not going to destroy the White Fang, we're going to take it back!" she said firmly as she turned around. Her family, friend, and teacher all stared at her for a little while.

"Spoken like a true revolutionary," Shade said, with a nod.

"That's my girl!" Kali said softly, but proudly.

"I might not really get where you're going with this," Sun said, before he leapt to his feet, and slammed his fist into his palm, "But I've got your back no matter what!" Ghira also got up, though he did it with a little less eagerness than Sun.

"You've always been one to fight for what you believed to be right," he said, as he approached his daughter, "For all we know, the White Fang may be a lost cause, but if you truly believe this is the proper course of action, I know there was nothing I could ever do to stop you." He then put his hand on Blake's shoulder and smiled.

"You have my support."

"Thanks, Dad," Blake said, with her own smile.

Some time later, after the group dispersed for the night, Blake retreated back to the balcony, to look into the dark of the night. As she did, a tingling feeling went down her arm. Blake rolled up her sleeve, to see the scales receding.

" **You have done well."** Looking up, Blake saw Darkness floating in front of her.

" **If ever you have sought redemption for your past, you have secured it several times over,"** he said.

 _Thank you,_ Blake answered with a smile.

" **But the path you will take will be fraught with difficulty,"** Darkness continued **, "You are trying to end a conflict you helped to begin with those who were once your comrades."**

 _I know_ Blake answered with a sigh _But I still have to do this. If I don't, then no one else will, and humans and Faunus will never be able to truly coexist._ Darkness just nodded at her.

" **Then go with me, my child,"** he said, before fading into the shadows.

"I always will," Blake answered. While there might not have been any spirits with her, she did have a god.

 **(on the outskirts of Argus)**

Pyrrha stood on the cliff that overlooked the ocean, savoring the view. While she never liked the cold of Argus, she could never tire of this view. Leaving her family like this certainly wouldn't be her preferred course of action, but they understood what she had to do at this point.

Ever since the fall of Beacon, Pyrrha had been avoiding what she needed to do, and those who needed her. But there was enough of that these days, and now Pyrrha knew exactly what she needed to do.

She then ran her hand across her arm, the scales having since disappeared, and she flexed her mechanical leg. Pyrrha then looked back onto the horizon, as her face tightened in determination. The champion then took a breath, as she held up her arms, and she began to glow….

 **(in Argus)**

"Come on Adrian! You can do it!" Adrian squeaked, as Saphron propped him up. Opposite her was another woman with short, dark brown hair and eyes wearing a blue cardigan, jeans, and glasses squatting on her knees, her arms open.

"Go on, walk to Mommy," Saphron said. Adrian squeaked again, as he tried to take a few steps. However, he only took a couple clumsy ones before he fell started to fall. Fortunately Terra Cotta, Saphron's wife, caught him before he could do so.

"It's okay," she said, as she picked Adrian back up, "My mom always said I was a bit slower to get the hang of walking too."

"It's too bad," Saphron said, "I wanted to show him off walking for Mom and Dad when they got here for the reunion."

"Ah yes, the reunion," Terra more muttered than said, as she glanced aside slightly.

"Come on, you love the girls."

"Right," Terra said, rolling her eyes slightly. She loved her in-laws, make no question, but she wasn't thrilled by the prospect of having to house several more people.

"Will Jaune be there?" Saphron's brow furrowed slightly at that.

"I… I hope so," was all she could say when she thought of her brother. Before she could say anything more, Adrian let out an excited cry, as he squirmed in Terra's arms, looking up into the sky.

"What is it?" Terra cooed, "Do you see…" That was when she and her wife actually looked up, and saw what was exciting their son.

Soaring over them was a great red dragon with bronze highlights and similarly colored horns. It was long and serpentine, lacking limbs save for a broad pair of bronze wings. Massive and majestic, it completely took the women's breath away. They could only stare in complete and utter awe as the great serpent soared over them, heading South.

"Jaune's going to be driven crazy by this," Saphron finally said, if only to fill the heavy silence.

 **(in Mistral)**

Using a makeshift stretcher made out of things they had laying around, Ruby and Jaune were carrying Qrow as best they could. If she were able, Ruby would turn into a dragon, and fly the rest of the way with Qrow in her claws; but since the skirmish with DRKE, she hadn't been able to. She… didn't know what to do.

While she wasn't an expert on magic and how it worked, she could tell her uncle was getting worse. He was constantly lapsing in and out of consciousness, and the group could only imagine how much pain he is in.

Floating in the air over them was Darkness, scanning the distance. As he did, he suddenly did a double take, as he sensed something…. Meanwhile, Ruby sniffled slightly, blinking away a couple tears.

"Hey!" The girl in red glanced over her shoulder at her partner.

"It's going to be okay," Jaune said softly, smiling at her.

"You don't know that," Ruby murmured, as she turned her attention back to the ground. A few paces ahead of them were Ren and Nora.

"Hey look!" Nora said, pointing towards a crossroads further ahead. When they got there, they saw that there as a sign pointing in the two directions, one of which said "Mistral", while the other said "Kuroyuri". Ren was disciplined enough to not flinch, but his eyes still narrowed.

"We have to go that way for Mistral?" Ruby asked nervously, glancing in that direction, into the mountains.

"We could go to Kuroyuri," Jaune suggested, "There may be supplies there."

"No," Ren said firmly, "We can't wait on this, we've gotta get to Mistral now."

"Even if we can get through those mountains, Qrow may not make it through that journey," Jaune said.

"Well… at least we'd know for sure that the people in Mistral can help him," Nora suggested.

" **Jaune and Ruby are correct,"** Darkness said as he floated down to them **, "That route takes you through the mountains, a journey which Mr. Branwen will almost certainly not survive."**

"But…," Ren started.

" **It is not at all a matter of 'but',"** Darkness interrupted **, "If you separate, you will be vulnerable, and…."** He trailed off as he looked into the distance.

" **There are… old forces in this area, ones you can never hope to stand against if you do not stand together."** The group was silent for a time, as they exchanged looks with each other.

"Well…. it's not like he's really been wrong yet," Nora said.

"But…," Ren again started.

" **Do not make me repeat myself,"** Darkness said. To punctuate his point, he faded away into the sky.

Since they were really not in a position to argue with their god, RNJR struck in the direction of Kuroyuri, save for Ren, who was lagging noticeably behind. Glancing over her shoulder at him, Nora fell back, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," she said, "It's gonna be fine."

"I know," Ren said, as he picked up his pace slightly, leaving Nora behind, as she looked at him with a degree of confusion of worry. Eventually, they arrived in the remains of the village.

"Why is this one is such terrible shape?" Jaune asked, "It looks a lot worse than the others."

"Because this one was destroyed, not abandoned," Ren said plainly.

"Well, everyone look for what might be a pharmacy," Ruby said.

"I'll stay with Qrow," Ren volunteered. As his teammates stuck out to look, he then looked towards the remains of the canal, and saw the remains of a lotus.

That was a memory returned. One that would've been much better left buried….

 _(Flashback)_

 _He wasn't sure how it all became so terrible so quickly. One day he was out shopping with his mother and being reprimanded by his father, and the next both were gone, and his village in utter ruin. Was this what life was really like? Things going bad instantly?_

 _But it didn't really matter, for at the time, all Ren could do was continue hiding with the girl as the Grimm ravaged about, as one of the worst of the monsters walked past their hiding place. The monster walked on all fours, though its front limbs looked somewhat like wings, and its back feet were scaly yet birdlike. Ren kept his hold on the girl who had taken shelter with him, not sure how the Grimm weren't able to find him, but not really caring how. That was when something new appeared, and it wasn't a Grimm._

 _Ren couldn't see it well, but it was a ghostly white form that had a humanoid outline. It also had what looked like eyes and a mouth. Ren instinctively tightened his hold, as the form seemed to turn towards them, and Ren saw its eyes; despite the light surrounding surrounding it, he could see the deep black eyes, which looked straight into his own. That was when the mouth contorted into a grin._

"Shhhh," _it hushed, putting its finger to its lips. It then held up its other hand, and pointed. Ren followed the finger, where it was pointing towards another house, under which were the same couple boys that were bullying Nora, cowering together. Ren wasn't sure what the thing was getting at, before it snapped its fingers. The boys didn't even have time to scream, before all the Grimm immediately lunged at their house._

 _Ren averted his eyes, as he tried to drown out the sounds of death, as the girl tightened his hold around him. As he slowly opened his eyes, the thing waved its finger at Ren as if scolding him, before it faded into a white mist, never losing its grin…_

 _(End Flashback)_

Right then, that was when they all heard it. It sounded like a combination of a shriek, a roar, and a hiss all rolled into one. Jaune and Ruby didn't recognize the sound, but the two from this village most certainly did.

"What was that?" Jaune asked, as he and Ruby set Qrow down to draw their weapons.

"Ren," Nora said softly.

"It's returned," was all Ren said in response.

 **(elsewhere in the forest)**

 _Did you hear that?_ Eve signed. Team DRKE was making its way through the forest a few miles from Kuroyuri. They had stopped for the day, but that was when they heard the cry as well.

"No," Krieg said sarcastically, "I'm sure only Drago could."

 _Ha ha_ Eve signed, somehow moving her hands sarcastically as well.

"A Grimm?" Rina asked.

"A big one from the sounds of it," Drago said, as he readied Blackfire.

"Define 'big'," Rina said nervously, as she pulled Excandesence out.

"I'd say gods damned big," Drago added, "Get ready."

"What're we going to do if it is 'gods damned big'?" Krieg asked as he readied his axes.

"A Grimm is a Grimm," Drago answered, "We do what we've always done whenever we encounter one." The chains then started glowing hot. Soon, the sounds of trees breaking and twisting began nearing them. The group all got ready, as it got closer.

"Ready Team DRKE?" Drago asked.

 _Damn straight_ Eve signed.

"Hell yeah!" Krieg added.

"You always ask that like we ever aren't," Rina said with a grin, as her staff began to glow. With that, the Grimm emerged from the trees, and almost at once, all their apprehension collectively turned to dread, as a shadow loomed over them, accompanied by a faint white glow.

"By the gods," Rina whispered.

" _Your gods aren't here anymore."_

 _World of Remnant: Schnee Dust Company_

 _I have never given much thought to the mortals' obsession with gain. Finite existences have a tendency to foster that mindset. So I allow the mortals to keep maintaining that. Perhaps gain of more gives them some sense of purpose and reason._

 _Well, at any rate, in the beginning it was just vendors exchanging their goods for other goods; then guilds were born where people with similar talents could gather to find work. Then the guilds became industries, and the industries became companies. It seemed that was when the mortals' craving for gain reached its greatest zenith, as companies rose and fell like the tides, and of those, none would see the success the Schnee Dust Company did._

 _It was first established when one Nicholas Schnee, born just after the Great War, found himself at the beginning of a great moment of technological advancement. Quick to seize on that advancement, he invested his days in combat training, and his nights in mining training. What time he did not spend on those, who trained on any topic he could otherwise think of._

 _When his father passed on, Nicholas invested what little he was left in something that mortals have had very mixed record on it: instinct. Rallying what few supporters he could, he sought out the largest Dust mine he could find. I will admit that he prayed slightly for that…._

 _For years, the newly born Schnee Dust Company became a beacon of trust and progress throughout Remnant for all people, even Faunus. However, the stress and age eventually overcame him, and he was made to retire. That was when he was persuaded by his son-in-law, Jacques Gele, a man who had far more of a business sense than his father-in-law, but none of the compassion. The "SDC" as the mortals would came to call it, became the most powerful and successful company on the planet, but at the cost of its proverbial soul._

 _For all his actions though, if there is one thing that I have learned about mortals, is that you can never know their ultimate legacy. Nicholas Schnee's son-in-law may have stained his legacy, but his grandchildren have yet to leave their own. And after all, one of them is now my brother's champion…._

 **Note: In a narrative sense, Ren and Nora's brief split off from the team doesn't accomplish much; it mostly serves as a pseudo framing device for Ren's flashback. Speaking of which, we did get a little bit of his flashback, and it seems something else alongside the Grimm was there.**

 **So Pyrrha's flew away to find her friends, and Blake's about to begin her campaign to save the White Fang. I should be able to tell you what the next chapter is going to be devoted to.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	47. Beast, Spirit, and Dragon

_**Beast, Spirit, and Dragon**_

Ruby resisted the urge to bang her head on the wood. She had scoured what felt like the entire town, and had absolutely no luck. If she were a dragon, she'd probably have burned the entire village down in her frusturation. And of course the constant shrieking from that Grimm in the distance wasn't making it much. Though one of those shrieks seemed a little less monstrous and a little more human, but she didn't really try and think about it at this point. She eventually made it back to town square, where the group was gathered.

"Tell me someone had some luck," she said nervously.

"Yeah, but it was all bad," Jaune said, "I looked over all the village and I couldn't find anything."

"Same here," Nora said, "So what do we do now?"

"We keep moving," Ren answered. Were he a different man, he'd be ranting about how he was right after all, but he was throughly not that man.

"If we start now, we should be in Mistral by tomorrow."

"Will Qrow even make it that long?" Jaune asked.

"No," Ruby answered softly.

"We've go to do something," Ren said, "Let's go."

"Wait!" Jaune said, as he held up his hand.

"What now?" Nora almost groaned.

"Listen," Jaune said, as held up his hand, "Do you hear that?" The group did listened, as they heard what sounded like thudding footsteps coming their direction. It was overlaid with a deep hissing sound. No one needed to guess what it was.

"Get ready," Ruby said, as she opened up Crescent Rose. It felt like hours, as the footsteps gradually got louder. Sweat began to build on Jaune's brow, as he tighten his grip on his blade, and his scaled arm pulsed in pain. Then the monster emerged from the shadows. Somehow, it was even worse than what they are expecting.

The Grimm, while not as big as a Goliath, was easily the size of a Deathstalker. It looked like a twisted combination of a bird and a reptile. It had bird-like body complete with feathered wings, but its body was covered with dark scales. It had a long, snake-like neck ending with a vulture-like head, and a long snake tail. It opened its beak, as venom dripped out of its fanged mouth. It was a Basilisk, and that was bad enough, but then there was the thing lounging on its back.

It was human-like in appearance, but it was glowing white. Atop its head was a head of dark hair that contrasted considerably with its white form, with equally dark eyes with yellow pupils. The figure was masculine, and its ears were pointed with a dark black shorts with gold highlights around its waist as well as a black choker. The whole group could tell what it was: a Spirit. As they stared at it, it then opened its mouth.

" _Greetings, mortals,"_ it said, holding up its hand _, "Glad to finally be able to meet you face to face."_ It's voice was smooth and oily, like water flowing over stones. RNJR could only stare at the being, at their first Spirit. Somehow, it seemed to be restraining the Grimm, which continued to hiss and growl, raking its talons through the ground in anticipation.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked. Maybe that was a dumb question, but it was the only thing that came to mind at this point.

" _I am Viridios,"_ the Spirit said, as he floated off the Grimm _, "A being made by the God of Light to steward his creation."_ He then gestured down to the Basilisk.

 _"And this is Vritra, a being made by the God of Darkness to bring destruction to that creation."_ The Grimm let out another hiss, as its tail lashed.

"You're a High Spirit," Ruby said.

" _I'm a Spirit yes, but I'm not one of the Four I'm afraid,"_ Viridios answered, folding his arms _, "I don't begrudge you for not recognizing me. It has been many ages since mortals have seen me in all my glory."_ Looking at him closer, Ruby realized something.

"You're the one from my dream!" she said.

" _Oh yes, I know,"_ Viridios said, sneering at her _, "You slipped away then. But that night wasn't a total loss."_

"Wait? What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

" _I was able to give your uncle a small, but lasting gift,"_ the Spirit answered. A near universal chill went down their spines at those words. He was the one who poisoned Qrow?

"Why are you doing this?" Jaune said.

" _Pardon?"_

"Why are you chasing us like this?" Jaune demanded, "First you try and kill Ruby, and now you poison Qrow!"

"' _Why'?"_ the Spirit responded, cocking his head _, "It really wasn't that complicated. It was the same reason I helped destroy this village."_

"So why did you do it?" Viridios just shrugged.

" _There really isn't much to do out here, and tormenting mortals is a good way to pass the time, that's why."_ Those words sent an even worse chill down their spines.

"You're doing all this, causing all this pain and suffering, because its fun?" Nora asked slowly.

" _Indeed I am,"_ Viridios said as plainly as he could've. This whole thing was just a game for him? Just a means of cheap entertainment?

" _Well, talking with you was quite nice,"_ the Spirit said, folding his arms _, "But I'm afraid talk can also be quite boring."_ He then floated down to Vritra's level.

" _Time for dinner, old friend,"_ Viridios whispered to the Grimm. With a shriek, the Grimm charged at RNJR, running like a literal chicken in their direction.

"Scatter!" Jaune shouted. The group quickly did that, causing Vritra to miss them all. Nora launched a couple grenades at the Grimm, though it didn't do much damage after such a monster. Vritra then snapped its beak at Nora, but she managed to avoid the strike. Ruby quickly was on atop of the Grimm, firing her own rounds at it, but it again did little more than make the monster mad, as it lashed its tail out, smacking Ruby and sending her careening away. The rose stumbled head over heels, and slamming into the remains of the clock tower.

"Ow," she moaned, rubbing her head. Vritra promptly sprung at her; though fortunately it got peppered with bullets from Ren, whose face was contorted with rage. The Basilisk hissed as it looked towards the man in green, locking eyes with him. Ren let out his own hiss, as his eyes turned to slits. The Basilisk roared, as it charged Ren, venom all but spewing from its beak.

During this, Jaune had taken it upon himself to check on Qrow. They had left him to the side of the square, where he was hopefully out of notice of the Grimm.

" _Well, well."_ Jaune froze as he glanced up to see Viridios floating over him.

" _I was wondering where he was,"_ he said. Jaune instinctively swung his sword at the Spirit, only for the being to easily avoid it.

" _You think you can beat me, do you?"_ he inquired, leaning on his hand _, "A small man like you? Bringing down small men is always fun."_ With that, he whistled slightly. Vritra's eyes then swung in their direction, as it let out another shriek, and charged Jaune and Qrow.

"No!" Ruby cried, as she activated her Semblance. Once she was close enough, she phased out of her petal form, and slashed at the Basilisk, catching it across the face. While it didn't do much damage, it did get the monster's attention, as it shrieked again, and turned its attention towards her, before starting to chase the rose.

" _Dumb beast,"_ Viridios muttered, as he floated after it. Ren, meanwhile, ran over to support Jaune.

"Go help Ruby," Ren said, "I can keep Qrow safe." Jaune didn't want to leave his friend alone, but he sure as heck couldn't leave Ruby alone against the Grimm. Meanwhile, Ruby was resigned to dodge strikes from beak, claw, and the occasional tail from Vritra. She would fire her own occasional shot in its direction, but it failed to do any damage against such a large beast. Nora fired another couple grenades, but they only continued to make the monster mad. It then opened its beak, and spat out a thin stream of venom, which Nora had to avoid. She didn't want to think of what might've happened if she got some on her skin.

" _Enough of this!"_ Viridios said, as he appeared on Vritra's back. He put both of his hands on its head, as the Grimm seemed to, not calm, but slow slightly.

" _You want the easy prey first, don't you?"_ the Spirit hissed, leaning down. Vritra then hissed, as its gaze turned back to Qrow.

"NO!" Ruby cried as she tried to attack, only to get hit with the Grimm's tail, and get sent careening into a building. Jaune cried out for her, and ran to help, while the Basilisk charged Ren and Qrow. Knowing what he had to do, Ren activated his Semblance, as both Qrow and himself turned a strange gray. The Grimm came to a halt, hissing as it looked around, as if no longer seeing the two. Ren let himself take a breath at that. But it didn't last…

" _That may work on the younger's creations,"_ Viridios said from his position on the monster's back, lying on his stomach _, "But me…"_ He then tapped a finger on Vritra's head. The Basilisk's eyes were then suddenly straight back on Ren, as it snapped at him. Fortunately, it was stopped when it shrieked in pain, stumbling back while flapping its wings. As it did, Ren noticed Crocea Mars in the side of its head. Not deep enough to cause any damage, but certainly enough for it to hurt.

"GO!" Jaune shouted as he continued running. Not inclined to argue, Ren picked Qrow up, and did his best to carry him to safety. Meanwhile, visibly annoyed, Viridios tired to calm his "friend", as he floated down, and reached for the blade. However, as he moved to grab it, he flinched back from it, as if the blade itself burned him.

" _What?"_ he muttered, looking at his hands. But not intent on dwelling it, he focused, and telekinetically pulled it out of the Basilisk's head. Nora then took a position on a roof, before jumping down with Magnhild in hammer form. It smashed into Vritra's back, firing as it did. This actually got the monster's attention, as it let out a pain hiss, doubling over. Nora couldn't savor her victory, as the Basilisk's tail lashed out, and knocked her into a nearby structure. She tried to get up, only to find the Basilisk looming over her.

"NORA!" Ren cried, as he got to his feet. The mosnter glared down at Nora, venom dripping from its beak, as Nora closed her eyes in fear, tears slipping out. Viridios then looked towards Ren.

" _You didn't watch then,"_ he said cruelly _, "Now try hiding your eyes this time."_ Vritra then opened its beaks, and got ready to deliver the finishing blow.A single thought then entered Ren's mind: save his friends, and the young woman he loved. Power surged through his veins, as his Aura glowed brighter than ever.

" _What the…"_ The Spirit couldn't finish, as Vritra was suddenly slammed in the side by a great green dragon. The monster rolled away, as Viridios floated into the air, as he saw what slammed into his monster. The dragon doomed in the sky over them, his glowing pink eyes glaring down at the Spirit and the Grimm.

" **I won't let you hurt them,"** the dragon declared Ren's voice. His friends all stared in shock and some disbelief at their friend. But one way or another, the whole of RNJR now had one singular thought in their heads: beat the monsters, and save each other. The old power of the God of Darkness back through surged their veins, as almost all at once, the three's forms was consumed in light of their Auras. Viridios could only look on in shock as three more dragons emerged from the light. While their forms were roughly he same as before, they were also slightly larger, and more muscular.

" _By the Light, what is this?"_ Viridios demanded, recoiling in shock at the sight of the dragons. The forms reminded him more than a little of two certain beings far more powerful than him. Vritra hissed at the sight of the great reptiles before it, as it backed up slightly.

Not at all intent on answering, Ruby was the first to strike, beating her wings in the monster's direction, raking her talons along the Grimm's chest, finally piercing the Grimm's thick hide, causing it to howl in pain. It didn't have time to really react, as Jaune tackled it. Vritra bit at Jaune, only for the dragon's scales to deflect the Grimm's fangs. Jaune sank his own teeth into the Grimm's throat, leaving deep gashes.

His face contorting in frustration, Viridios clapped his hands together. A burst of telekinetic energy struck Jaune, and while not doing any damage (in fact it barely stunned him), it was just enough for his grip to loosen enough for the Basilisk to wrestle him off. However, before it could do anything to the dragon though, Ruby was suddenly on top of it, as it constricted her thorny vines around it, sinking her teeth into its neck. Vritra was yanked off Jaune, as it stumbled away, trying to get Ruby off of it. It wrapped its own tail around Ruby's neck, and managed to use its (somewhat) superior strength to pull her off, and onto the ground.

Right then, Nora crashed into its back, hitting with so much force it cracked the surrounding down. Raking her claws into the back, Nora bit into the back of its neck, and pulled it up. The Basilisk's eyes were then drawn to the sky, where Ren floated over it.

" **You'll never torment anyone again."** With that, he dove at Vritra, his jaws open. With the force of the strike, he ripped the Basilisk's head clean off. The monster's body collapsed, as it began to fade away. All four dragons roared in victory over the beast, breathing fire into the night sky.

 _Whoa!_ Ruby said _Where did that come from?_

 _I don't know, but I do something,_ Jaune declared _Its not willpower that let's us transform. Its clarity!_

 _Clarity?_

 _Every time we try to transform, it's always when we've been completely clear on what we needed to do._

 _That's why we haven't been able to transform since Beacon_ Ren said _Because we've been unsure about what to do._

 _Well!_ Nora declared, standing proud as the Grimm beneath her fully vanished _I exactly what we need to do now! We need to get the damn things done!_ As the friends laughed at her, Viridios could only stare at the sight from the shadows. Vritra was one of the oldest and mightiest of Grimm on the continent, the one that had been the bane of Anima for years, brought low by the mortals. But these mortals… they weren't normal; then, all four dragons looked straight Viridios. _They_ needed to know of them.

" _Mortal filth,"_ Viridios growled, before he floated away into the dark. However, a being of light had difficulty hiding in the dark, as both Ren and Nora dove after him, as the former quickly caught the Spirit, pinning him with his claw.

" **After all you have done, you think you can just run away?"** Ren growled.

" _You would dare threaten me!"_ Viridios desperately ranted _, "I am as a god to you!"_ The dragons was silent for a second, as they stared down at the creature at their mercy. Ren and Nora then exchanged a glance with each other.

" **There are gods in this world,"** Ren finally said **, "But you aren't one of them!"** With that, Nora then opened her mouth, and bathed the Spirit in her fire. Viridios cried out, as he was reduced to glowing dust in the wind.

 **"Puny god,"** Nora growled, before she and Ren crawled/floated back to the town center.

Once they were back, Nora came close to Ren, and let out what sound like a purr, as she nuzzled his neck, which Ren returned by wrapping his neck around her own. Jaune and Ruby watched, as Ruby came closer to her partner, and rubbed her body against his. Jaune let out a slight hiss of pain at the thorns on her body.

 _Sorry_ , Ruby said. She then looked for, and quickly found her uncle, before she gently picked him up in her claws.

 _Well, shall we?_ she asked.

 _Lead the way_ Jaune answered. Then, as one, the four dragons took to the air, and soared away. As they did, Darkness watched from the sky, having observed the whole thing from out of fight.

 **"Well done,"** he murmured.

 **Note: First time we've actually got a named Spirit, and a named Grimm. For those who don't know, Viridios is the name of the Celtic god of agriculture and Vritra the name of a monster in Hinduism. There are probably plenty of questions people have about the Spirits, but I'll answer at least some of them next chapter, where I'll have another look back on the chapter.**

 **This whole chapter was devoted to RNJR fighting the Basilisk (which I chose to take the place of the Nuckalavee). I hope people enjoyed it. We'll have one more chapter for Vol. 4, and then we'll be moving into Vol. 5. I really wanted to include the scene where Nora slaps Ren, but I tried a couple drafts with it, and it didn't fit with the rest of the story. So I tried to give him a scene of him and Nora working together as dragons.**

 **Sorry for the lack of a WOR, but I was having trouble thinking of one. If anyone has a suggestion as to what else I can cover, feel free to share it.**

 **Be sure to review. Please?**


	48. A Teacher's Pride

_**A Teacher's Pride**_

Perhaps a couple miles from the village where Viridios and Vritra fell, there was a small clearing in the forest. However, it was not a natural one, rather the trees were thrown clumsy, and the ground torn up. Leading into, and away from the clearing, were a series of three toed, bird-like feet.

Also littered across the clearing were four mangled bodies, and the broken remains of weapons. All of the bodies were utterly lifeless, that is, for one, which let out a gasp. One with a red tail…

 **(not far away)**

While this wasn't the first time RNJR had flown, something about this was different. Seeing the mountains and the land stretch out as far as they could see, feeling as if they were able to go anywhere. Riding high after their victory over the Spirit and the Grimm, they felt… unbeatable.

 _Look!_ Ruby suddenly said, optioning with one of her vines. The group looked in the direction she was pointing, as through the clouds they could see something. While they had never actually seen it in real life, they immediately knew what it was.

 _Dragons and dragonelles_ Nora declared _we have arrived in Mistral!_ Mistral while quite similar to Vale, was also quite different. It was all built on a mountain, with two towering structures sitting atop the peak; they recognized one of those two buildings as Haven Academy. Presumably the other, larger one, was the Imperial Palace.

 _Couldn't have gotten here sooner_ Jaune said, as they all swooped down. They couldn't very well drop Qrow off at the hospital as dragons, so they landed on the outskirts of the city and turned back to human form. They were able to carry Qrow to the guards at the city gates, who were able to get him the help he needed.

Once they were secure in knowing Qrow was going to be alright, they all managed to find some lodging. After she got to her and Jaune's shared room, Ruby promptly collapsed facedown onto the bed, utterly exhausted.

"Oh mattresses," she moaned into the fabric, "How I missed you." Thinking about how comfy these beds were caused Ruby's mind to slip towards her own bed, which left her thinking about home, and her family. Ruby's sniffled slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Jaune.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Ruby said softly, as she pushed herself back to a sitting position. Seeing his partner clearly not in the best place, Jaune took it upon himself to make her feel better, as he sat beside her.

"Hey, we made it didn't we?" he asked, as he squeezed her shoulder.

"Yeah, we did," Ruby answered, as she smiled at her partner, wiping some stray tears slightly. That was when a strange feeling went down her arm; rolling her sleeve up, Ruby saw the scales all fading away.

"The scales," she said, "They're…" She trailed off as Jaune checked his own arm, as his scales already started to disappear.

"What…. how…," he muttered.

" **Of course they are disappearing."** The two looked up, as they noticed Darkness appearing in the room, his arms folded behind his back.

" **You all did well,"** he said **, "You made the whole journey, and faced the challenges, all by yourselves."**

 _So_ Jaune said after a moment of savoring his compliment _I take it your satisfied with our performance?_

" **Satisfied?** Darkness asked, cocking his head slightly **, "No, I am not satisfied."** That left Ruby and Jaune balking at their god.

 _Wait!_ the latter said.

 _What?_ the former added.

" **No, I am not satisfied,"** Darknesssaid bluntly **, "Because what I am, is proud."** The balking turned into staring; the God of Darkness was declaring his pride for two of his champions.

" **You four have demonstrated bravery, clarity, and above all will, and you did it by yourselves, and I have not been this proud since the first human emerged from the dust."** Something about their creator telling them he was proud of them; it was like having a super powerful parent praise them.

"Thank you," Jaune and Ruby said together, smiling at their god, as their creator nodded at them.

" **But I sense your journey is far from over,"** Darkness continued **, "Prepare, for your challenges will only grow from here."** With that, he faded away. Jaune and Ruby looked at each other.

"We got this?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, we got this," Jaune affirmed, as the two fist bumped. That was when an impulse struck Ruby…

 _*chu_

Jaune put a hand to his cheek, as Ruby quickly jumped to her feet, covering her face, which was as red as her cloak, hurrying out of the room. That left Jaune to just stare after the little rose in surprise.

 **(a few miles from Mistral)**

Ren and Nora soared through the air in their dragon forms, practicing in their dragon forms. Enjoying the cool, fall air on their scales, they eventually came to a stop on a cliff overlooking the city to rest.

After landing beside each other, Nora inched closer to Ren, purring gently, as she rubbed her neck against his, folding one of her wings over his long serpentine body. Ren let out a soft hiss, as he returned the gesture, as he wrapped his tail around her own, as the two dragons enjoyed the sunset together.

 **(on Patch)**

Bumblebee hummed down the road, as the two hands, one mechanical, tightened on the handlebars, as Yang glared down the road through her shades.

Having painted her prosthetic yellow, Yang was finally getting off her ass, and down the road. Her father hadn't been thrilled when she told him what she was going to do, but likely understood that trying to stop her would be like trying to move the entire island.

" **You are finally taking action?"** Yang glanced to the side, as she saw Darkness floating beside her.

"I need to focus on the road," the blonde responded.

" **Considering you are not wearing a helmet, I assumed safety wasn't your priority."**

"My Aura protects me," Yang answered.

" **So, where are you going?"** Darkness inquired.

"I…" At that, Yang actually stopped, at the head of a crossroad, staring at the signs. Darkness stopped in front of her.

" **I should not need to tell you what do. I believe you know."** With that, the god winked away. Yang stared at the crossroads, chewing on her lip, before she slammed her scaled arm on one of the handlebars.

"Damn me," Yang then declared softly, before turning in one direction, knowing Darkness was right.

"I'm coming for ya, Sis!" As she drove on, she felt a strange tingling sensation on her natural arm, but didn't think anything of it as she focused on the road ahead of her.

 **(in Northern Anima)**

A small murder of Nevermore were roosting on a cliff, eyeing a village hungrily. However, before they could do anything, they were all consumed by a blaze of red fire. As the ashes of the Grimm floated into the sky, a great red dragon swooped over.

Glad to know the village was safe for the time, Pyrrha continued flying. She had been flying for some time without stop, and yet she was barely tired; she felt like she could fly for another several days. But knowing she needed a break, she landed on that same cliff, shifting back into her human form. Taking a breath, the champion leaned against the tree, rolling her mechanical leg. She then looked towards the horizon.

"Almost there, RYPJ!" she promised under her breath.

As she did so, Darkness looked down at her, nodding in approval.

 **(over Solitas)**

Resting against a case full of Dust, Weiss stared at the ceiling of the airship she had gotten a ride on. It had been rather pricey, but she didn't care; anything to get her out of Atlas at this point. As she was sitting, she held up her hands, as a glyph appeared on it. A small dragon then floated out of it, which Weiss smiled at.

" **It is as if you were looking in a mirror."** Weiss glanced up to see Darkness in a shrunken form, floating over her. While he was maybe only a foot tall, he was still floating over her, causing Weiss to look up to him. Perhaps that was to expected form a god, but Weiss didn't mind.

 _I suppose it is_ she answered.

" **You have done very well,"** Darkness said, his arms folded behind his back.

 _Well… I couldn't have done it without you_ Weiss said.

" **Yes, you could have,"** Darkness said with a nod **, "I just reminded you to do it."** Weiss smiled at him, before she looked back to the glyph dragon.

 _You know, this… might be weird to say_ she said slowly _But you've actually been more of a father to me than my real father._ Darkness was silent for a time, before he nodded to her, and faded away. Weiss just kept her smile, as the glyph dragon faded away.

"Just wait, Nora," she muttered. To think she'd be so excited to see Nora.

 **(on Menagerie)**

Blake then picked a blue piece of cloth out her trunk. On it was the white head of a wolf, the original symbol of the White Fang. She smiled confidently at that. She start to wonder if a different symbol would be needed; dragons started coming to mind…

She then sensed something, and glanced up to see Darkness floating down to her level.

 **"To reclaim a lost legacy will be a great challenge,"** he said **, "Are you prepared to face it?"**

 _Without a doubt!_ Blake answered with an all time firm nod.

 **"I would expect nothing less from one of my students** ," the god answered, before he started to float away.

 _Wait!_ Blake suddenly called, making him stop _, I've been meaning to ask. I know you and your brother created humanity, but... what about the Faunus?_ There it was, the hard question, the one Darkness still did not have an answer for.

 **"There is much about your people that I still do not know. But be assured, I will find the answers soon, and I will share them with you."** Blake nodded, as she turned her attention back to the trunk.

 **"But be warned, the answers may not be to your liking."** That made the cat stop, as she clenched the fabric of the flag slightly.

 _I just want the truth_ she said _That'll be enough for me._ Darkness looked at her for a time, before nodding. He then floated through the ceiling, and looked over the expanse of Menagerie.

His champions, his students… his children had restored their clarity and their drive. The future was in their hands, and for the first time, he believed that humanity deserved the second chance his brother offered….

 **(somewhere else on Menagerie…)**

"The stranger is proving a continued nuisance," Fennec said.

"Perhaps, but he is still a stranger," Corsac answered, "I'm sure we can find a way to outmaneuver him." He and his brother were standing before a small shrine in front of a painting of a cloaked figure with Faunus ears, similar to their own appearance, something Ilia found a tad narcissistic. She was standing in the back of room, having given her report, and watching silently.

"We have to wait for Lord Adam's word," Corsac continued, "Once the time comes, will have to move quickly." Upon hearing that, Ilia clenched her fist slightly, as she turned purple.

"Something the matter, Sister Ilia?" Fennec asked, glancing back at their subordinate.

"No," Ilia lied, turning back to her normal color, "Just… thinking."

"Be assured," Fennec said, as he approached putting his hand on her shoulder, "What you are doing is for the good of all Faunus." There it was, the same phrase that Ilia had always heard.

"For the good of all Faunus," she echoed, as she flashed a dark green.

"Now go," Corsac said, "When the time comes, we will summon you." Once the chameleon was gone, Fennec pulled out his Scroll, as his brother came over to him. With that, the Faunus made a call.

" _Is it time?"_ Bai Suzhen asked as her face appeared on the screen.

"Not yet, but it will be very soon," Fennec said.

" _I'm a busy woman,"_ Bai said, narrowing her red eyes _, "Either you take the initiative, or I do it on my own."_

"You must wait for our signal," Corsac said, "Everything must line up exactly as we need it."

" _You seem to be under the impression_ I _need_ you _,"_ the albino said sternly _, "You are aware I could just do this all myself and accomplish the same goal."_

"Trust us," Corsac said, "It will all work as we have planned."

"Be assured," Fennec said, "you will have the gratitude of all Faunus in the future."

" _Be still my heart,"_ the snake answered, _"Don't try and get all revolutionary on me, just give me the time and place."_

"We will give it to when the time is right."

"You better be all you've been built up to be," Fennec said, narrowing his eyes.

" _Relax,"_ Bai said, as she rolled her eyes through the Scroll _, "They'll never see me coming."_

 _World of Remnant: the Old and New_

 _In the ages since my brother and I left this world, much has changed. We never thought that the world would stop in our absence, and after the mortals recovered, they were able to build a new world for themselves. They no longer have magic, but they have sought to compensate with their technology. And a great feat it indeed is; their world has reclaimed some, but far from all, of the legacy of our time._

 _So have they surpassed the old times? As far as I am concerned, they have not. All the technology they have has merely given them a different means of conflict, if anything, it has made the conflict more destructive. Until the day comes that we can return that which we confiscated, they will remain incomplete. We can give them our gifts, but beyond that, they will have to do it themselves._

 _Some say I am asking too much for them to achieve unity. But I believe it can be done. The mortals are nothing if not tenacious, and tenacity can foster success and progress. My brother's students have demonstrated that quite well._

 **Note: Thanks to a Guest reviewer for the WOR idea. This'll probably be the last one for a while, just saying now. With that, let me do another sort of Volume retrospective like I did at the end of Vol 3.**

 **When approaching this volume, I asked the question: how would it be impacted by what happened in deviation from canon already? But also, how could I make it my own? That was where DRKE, Viridios, and Vritra came from. Most of the scenes consisted of adapted versions of canon, chiefly included with Shade.**

 **Moving onto the Spirits; while I won't go into some of the broader details, such as their exact nature or goals (spoilers and all), I will discuss where they came from; as should be obvious now, they're going to be antagonists. I knew going into writing this story that Salem wouldn't be sufficient as the sole antagonist in this premise, so I brainstormed. I didn't want either of the Brothers' to be the antagonists, since that's a cliche nowadays (it annoys me how people reduce these ancient, wise, and all powerful beings which we know remarkably little about into either petty, one-dimensional bad guys, or weirdly quirky and eccentric jokes), so I struck the God of Light off the list. I then considered making additional gods: a third Brother, and three Sisters, who would embody the classical elements, and fill the rainbow spectrum. But all powerful deities make for bad antagonists unless you give the mortal protagonists a sizable edge, which wouldn't suit** _ **RWBY**_ **'s setting. The Spirits came from me remembering what Blake said about who the Faunus worshipping (initially a throwaway line used to make the revelation more shocking to her), and decided to explore that concept a little more. I asked "what if the God of Light created his version of the Grimm?", and that's where the Spirits came from.**

 **Moving onto Team DRKE, they were created mostly to insert some of my own concepts into the story. I thought it would be interesting to see a team with a general theme centered around fantasy archetypes, which is of course where DRKE came from. They served their role in the story as the adversaries for RNJR, after which they were always to be beaten by Viridios and Vritra. As you probably noticed at the beginning, they're all dead, save for one; you should be able to tell who.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	49. Welcome to Haven

_**Welcome to Haven**_

" _All that effort, all that time, amounting to nothing. The beast remains sealed."_

 _"And the child thinks this a victory. After all this time, she still thinks like a mortal."_

" _We must take action! If we don't, we'll lose our window."_

" _Patience, my brethren, you sound like distressed mortals. Mistral may yet yield success."_

" _You would have us put our faith in the child? And the ability of her servants?"_

" _Of course not, I would have you put faith in the inability of their enemies."_

" _I suppose if there is one thing history has shown again and again, it's how nature points out the folly of man."_ **(props if you get that)**

" _What of the mortals?"_

" _The vermin are irrelevant; they have always ever been irrelevant."_

" _And if this turns out a failure as Vale did?"_

" _Then we will take matters into our own hands."_

" _You would have us dip our fingers into the affairs of the_ lesser _beings?"_

" _If the need be. But relax, no need to fret yet. Both our time, and their's, is coming soon…"_

 **(in Mistral)**

Jaune wasn't sure what to expect as he, his friends, his teacher, and… Qrow (he was his partner's uncle, so what did that make him to Jaune?) started making their way through the city. But seeing Mistral made Jaune realize how…. normal Vale was in comparison. Most of the city seemed to be built on a mountain reaching up to it's peak, where Haven and the Emperor's residence was, and which was where they were going. As they were ascending, it wasn't lost on anyone how the buildings got progressively nicer as one went up the mountain.

"What's with all the different kinds of houses?" Ruby asked.

"Most of the nobility live further up the mountain," Ren explained, "The common folk leave closer to the ground."

"It appears status is represented by how high on the mountains you are," Shade said, glancing up, "I suppose if nothing else they are honest about their stratification."

"Yeah," Jaune snorted, "Cause being honest about something automatically makes it better." The group then caught an elevator to take them up to the Academy. As they ascended, said stratification got progressively more apparent; the colors got progressively drabber as one went down the hill, compared to the bright colors of the aristocracy's residence.

Eventually, they reached the top, where they were presented with Haven Academy. It was slightly different than Beacon, being a bit more spread out than Beacon, and done in Mistrali style. Behind the Academy was an even taller structure, almost as tall as Amity Tower. It certainly looked like a royal residence.

"I take it that's the palace?" Shade said as they started walking through the Academy grounds.

"Yep," Qrow said, glaring at it, before sighing, "And Jiao is quite the son of a…"

"Please do not take my name in vain," Shade interrupted, glancing at Qrow. Qrow grumbled, as he reached into his coat to get his flask.

"Is he really that bad?" Ruby asked.

"He's the Emperor, what do you expect?" RNJR exchanged looks; based on what Qrow had told them, they certainly weren't excited to meet with this Emperor. Qrow took a breath as he tried to take a swig from his last, though found it was empty, to his annoyance.

"Can you maybe perform a miracle and get me more?" he asked Shade.

"Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, looking at him, "Just don't." Qrow grumbled to himself as put the flask away.

"We're lucky in one respect: Jiao is in on the same thing I told you about."

"He is?" Jaune asked, surprised to learn that. It seemed like something that one would want to keep as secret as possible.

"The Lord of Vacuo, Ironwood, and the sitting members of Vale High Council know too," Qrow continued, "It's almost something of a state secret." Eventually they made it to what was apparently the main building, which Qrow lead them into.

"Where is everybody?" Nora asked.

"I know school's out of session right now, but I thought there'd at least be a few people here," Jaune commented. Qrow glanced around, narrowing his eyes.

"This isn't right," he said, "Stay on guard." With that he hurried ahead, up to a pair of large double doors, while his charges followed. Shade just calmly strolled behind him, clearly not bothered by any of this.

"Get ready," Qrow said, as he put one hand on Harbinger. The students did the same, while Shade just idly leaned on the wall. As the group got ready, Qrow then put his free hand on the door. Right then, a figure burst out of the door. Everyone let out to cry, as he fell forward, only to get stopped in midair by Shade's telekinesis. Once he did, everyone got a good look at him.

"Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked. Shade lowered his hand, causing the man in a suit to fall face first to the floor; he had a literal mane of hair that merged with a large beard on his chin, and they noticed a lion tail coming out of his back, marking him as a Faunus. Once he had regained his bearings, he looked up to see who it was.

"Gods damn it, Qrow!" Leonardo Lionheart griped, "You nearly scared me half to death!"

"Sure, _I_ scared _you_ ," Qrow grumbled, as he let go of Harbinger, dragging his hand across his face, "Why the hell weren't you at the front?" Leo stared at him for a time, before pulling out his watch.

"Oh yes, I suppose I should've been there," he said. Shade rolled his eyes at that.

"A novel excuse if ever there was one," he said. Leo then came to his feet, and dusted himself off.

"Please come in," he said, gesturing, and as they did so, he looked at Qrow's companions, "I take it these are the students you mentioned?"

"Yes we are, Ruby Rose."

"Nora Valkyrie."

"Jaune Arc."

"Lie Ren."

"Pleased to meet you all," Leo said with a smile and a nod, "I could always count on Ozpin training the best." He then looked towards Shade.

"And you are?"

"And I am Dr. Shade," Shade answered, "I am a personal teacher to the four you see before you."

"Well, a pleasure," Leo said, as he took a seat at his desk, "I'm afraid I can't introduce you to my own students, they are all away on class break and…"

"Wait a minute!" Qrow said, as he leaned forward on the desk, "Say that again."

"Well, it's that time of year, and it is common practice…."

"If they're all gone, who's guarding the Relic?"

"Qrow!" Leo said, gesturing to the others, "Not in front of the others."

"The kids already know," Qrow said, "As for Shade…. he's…. well informed."

"We shall leave it at that," Shade said plainly, though there was a slight twinge in his voice. RNJR noticed it, but Qrow didn't seem to. But Leo didn't pursue the topic there, as Shade told him.

"Even for you, Qrow, this is reckless," Leo said as he folded his arms.

"Then what does that make leaving the Relic unguarded, or not checking in with Oz anymore?" Qrow hissed.

"What was there to report?" Leo answered, "Everything was going as it was supposed to before Beacon fell. Then the tower came down, and everything fell to chaos. Vale wasn't the only country to suffer that day. Everyone saw that poor girl being torn to pieces, Atlesian androids gunning down people, and that was when it all blank. I shouldn't have had to tell you what happened then." He was right, they didn't. At least at Beacon, RNJR and their comrades had managed to be there to help as dragons, but here….

"Then how are we supposed to protect the Relic?" Qrow demanded, "How are we supposed to keep Haven safe?"

"Perhaps you are asking the wrong questions," Shade suddenly said as he stepped forward, "Instead of asking 'how', try asking 'what'. What needs to be done at this point? Now, the Relic may be unguarded, but it is still locked away, so it is essentially safe at this point. Now the question becomes, who has the key?"

"Well that would be the Spring Maiden," Qrow said.

"The Spring Maiden?" Jaune asked.

"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden," Qrow explained, "Winter for the relic of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice and Spring for Knowledge."

"So just call the Spring Maiden, and have her here," Nora said, like it was obvious, which it seemed to be.

"I have a suspicion it is not that simple," Shade said.

"And you'd be correct. The issue there is that the Spring Maiden disappeared over a decade ago," Leo continued, "She could be anywhere."

"I…," Qrow stopped, as if unsure he even wanted to continue, "I actually may have an idea." At that, Leo's eyes lit up.

"Are you serious? You mean you've finally found her?"

"It's not good news," Qrow said, looking away, "Last I heard, she had fallen in with the Branwen tribe." Leo's eyes then darkened at that.

"Raven," he murmured. That got RNJR's attention, recognizing that as the name of Yang's mother.

"I have a sense of where they've made camp," Qrow continued.

"Well then," Leo said, as he stood up and smiled, "I must say Qrow, you are quite good at finding people that don't want to be found. Now, just give me a couple weeks, and I'll have a search party sent."

"A couple weeks?" Qrow demanded, narrowing his eyes, "You're kidding right?"

"Qrow, the Grimm have been emboldened by what happened in Beacon," Leo explained, "The simple fact of the matter, is that we can't spare anymore personnel."

"Damn it," Qrow grumbled, rubbing his forehead, "You have to arrange a meeting with Jiao. I need to…"

"The Emperor is dead." The air turned dead still at that.

"Say what?"

"I don't blame you for not knowing, what with broad communication essentially being non-existent at this point," Leo said, as he hung his head solemnly, as went back to his chair, "But he died four months ago."

"Who… who rules Mistral now?" Qrow managed to push out. Jiao Hanzhi had ruled Mistral for as long as Qrow as alive, and now he was dead? It didn't seem real.

"His granddaughter," Leo answered, "Princess Lin, though its now 'Empress' of course."

"Was he…"

"It wasn't foul play if that's what you're worried about," Leo said, holding up his hands," The palace doctors did the investigation, and found it was simply age and stress that claimed him."

"Well… I guess in this world that ain't a half-bad way to go," Qrow said slowly, rubbing his forehead, "Look, if that's the case, then I need you to arrange a meeting with the Chancellor."

"The Chancellor?" Jaune asked.

"The Emperor's second," Qrow answered, "He's in on the whole Salem business too."

"I can do my best, but I can't make any promises right now," Leo responded, "With Lin still underage, he's been running a lot of Mistral now, and can't spare much time."

"I don't care what you have to do!" Qrow suddenly snapped, "Just get it done!"

"You think I'm not trying!" Leo snapped back, standing up, "I have other things to worry about! Other lives I have to protect!"

"Uncle Qrow," Ruby said softly, as she stepped forward. But before she could do anything, a telekinetic burst kicked up some dust between Qrow and Leo.

"Enough, all of you," Shade said sternly, lowering his hand, "This fashion of speaking will not accomplish anything. Professor Lionheart, arrange that meeting as requested. If nothing else, it may push this endeavor in the correct direction. In the mean time, we will be here, to help guard the relic."

"Are you sure you'll be enough?" Leo asked. At that, Qrow actually chuckled.

"Trust me, these kids are probably more valuable than any huntsmen," he said, "And Shade he…. he can do a lot too."

" **An understatement if ever there was one."** Despite themselves, Ruby and Nora both giggled slightly at that.

"Well," Leo relented, as he sat down, "I can make a few calls, but I can't promise when it'll be. I'll do my best, though."

"That is all we ask," Shade said, and though Qrow didn't look entirely satisfied, he wasn't inclined to argue with Shade. With that, the group departed.

"Thank you, Professor Lionheart," Ruby said softly.

"Just doing my job, Ms. Rose," Leo answered, with a smile. With that, the door closed, and and he, leaned on his desk, in an attempt to sooth his racing heart.

" _A decent enough performance, Leonardo,"_ Arthur's voice suddenly spoke up from the display on the desk _, "But I suppose it's fortunate that you became a teacher, rather than an actor."_ Leo just kept his head down, as he stared at his desk in shame.

 **(somewhere else in Mistral…)**

Arthur then hung up on Leonardo, and made another call.

"Talos," he said.

" _What?"_ Talos' steely voice answered.

"Apparently the Spring Maiden is indeed somewhere on Anima, and she's traveling with one Raven Branwen," Arthur explained.

" _Copy, I will relay that information to Hazel,"_ Talos answered.

"Are you in position yet?"

" _I am,"_ Talos answered _, "When the time comes, I will be ready."_

"See to it that you are," Arthur said, taking another sip of his coffee, "I would hate for you to be responsible for any failure."

" _Do not waste time with your threats, especially not with me."_ With that, the connection cut out. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I'll never understand things like it," he grumbled to himself, as he swirled his cup.

 **(somewhere else on Anima)**

Sienna considered herself a reasonable Faunus. Her strategy to deal with the humans was relatively straightforward: bring down any institution that unfairly used Faunus labor, or was somehow complicit in Faunus discrimination. If the humans kept discriminating, then the attacks would continue, if they stopped, the attacks would stop. It really was that simple. No need for all out war or anything of the sort. Of course, Adam seemed to have a different outlook on things.

"I can't see what's so difficult about what I'm saying," Sienna said, "We will _not_ attack Haven Academy."

"High Leader, if you would please…," Adam began.

"You have no right to ask for anything!" Sienna snapped, "Do you realize the scale of your mistake?"

"I did what was necessary."

"Are you being serious?" Sienna growled, leaning forward, "Let me give you a clear list of reasons why you're completely and utterly wrong. First of all, the fall of the tower has meant global communication has taken a nosedive, meaning communication across our branches has slowed to a crawl. Second, you've painted a target on the backs of virtually all White Fang personnel on Remnant. Third, you gave justification for every kingdom to make things even worse for the Faunus. Is any of that clear enough for you?" Adam just calmly listened to his chastisement.

"I have someone I think you'd like to meet," he then said once Sienna was done. He then gestured to the door, and with that, the door opened, as one Tyrian Callows entered the room. As he did, he grinned ear to ear at the tigress.

"Tyrian Callows, Your Grace," Tyrian said, with a mock bow, showing a scorpion tail in the process. Sienna glared at the newcomer, immediately distrusting him.

"Care to explain, Adam?" she said, glancing at her subordinate.

"This man represents a very powerful individual," Adam said, "We worked with his allies to bring down Beacon."

"My mistress is the most powerful person in the world," Tyrian said, as he stood at the foot of the pedestal, his arms spread, "If what you want is to bring humanity low, she can help you do it. You can have the whole human race groveling at your feet." Sienna wasn't going to lie, that wasn't a wholly unpleasant image in her head, but she had to be rational at this point.

"Why should I trust you?" she demanded, "I don't know you."

"No you don't," Tyrian answered smoothly, "But think about it, you have a golden chance to have everything you ever wanted handed to you on a silver platter. I suggest taking advantage of it."

"I don't think either of you know what I want," Sienna answered, "What I want is for the humans to fear us. To know harming us will have consequences. What I don't want is a war with the humans that we can't win."

"You're wrong," Adam said plainly, "We _can_ win, and we _will_ win."

"What're you getting at, Taurus?" Sienna hissed.

"Let's be honest with ourselves, we're better than Humans, we are the superior race. The Spirits made _us_ to rule Remnant, not them," Adam said as he slowly ascended the steps of the pedestal, "For all this time, we have been the humans' slaves, when _they_ should be _our_ slaves." Sienna narrowed her eyes at that. She'd fully admit that she wasn't one to shed tears when something happened to a human, and that she may have taken some degree of satisfaction bringing them low. That didn't mean she just wanted to invert the power dynamic; at any rate Adam was also forgetting a certain fact that humans still outnumbered the Faunus three to one.

"That's enough," she said, holding up her hand, "I won't here anymore of this today. You may go." However, Adam just kept his place on the steps, staring up at her.

"Did you mishear me?" Sienna asked, glaring at him, "Or do you need my guards to escort you out?" Again, Adam remained still

"Unfortunately, revolution always has casualties," he said. With that, he looked straight at Sienna. A shiver went down the tigress' spine.

"Adam, what're you…"

"It's time we have new leadership," Adam said, as he drew Wilt, "Leadership that actually takes the appropriate action." Immediately realizing what was going on, Sienna leapt to her feet, pulling out Cerberus Whip, which she lashed at Adam, who easily blocked it. Sienna then moved to leap at Adam, only to suddenly find herself having to dodge a strike from a spear. To her horror, she saw who was carrying said spear.

"What are…." She couldn't answer, as she had to dodge another spear.

"By the Spirits, what are you doing?!" she demanded.

"Oh, my dear Sienna," Adam said dangerously, "You overestimate your position. While you've been sitting comfortably on your throne, I've been out acting, bringing progress to the cause. I may as well already be the High Leader." Sienna could only stare in horror, as all the men and women she had long trusted pointed their weapons at her. She then looked to glower at Adam.

"You think I'm going to swear my fealty to you?" Sienna demanded.

"Of course not," Adam answered, "It's quite a story, 'the High Leader of the White Fang assassinated by a human Black Ops group'." As it dawned on Sienna Adam's real plan, she moved to press the attack, she let out a cry, as one of the guards thrust her spear into her leg. When she looked up, she saw Adam on top of her. She only had just enough time to avoid a fatal strike as the blade came down on her; but it still left a deep gash across her torso. Falling to her knee, holding her wound, she then felt Adam's blade against her neck.

"Thank you, Sienna Khan, for all you did for the Faunus," Adam said coldly, "I will see to it that you are remembered as a true hero." Sienna's hand snapped up to grab the blade.

"You won't have this day," was all the tigress said. With that, the now _former_ High Leader of the White Fang, activated her Semblance, and she disappeared in a flash of orange light.

Tyrian who had been watching the whole thing, was silent. The only reason he hadn't done anything was because Salem told him not to kill Sienna, and he would not dare to disobey the will of his goddess. He had a brief look of surprise, before he let out a slight cackle.

"Oh Adam, my good man," he said, putting his hands on his hips, "Truly you should've told me about this plan of your's."

"No need," Adam answered, "She won't make it far with wounds like that."

"You still should've told me."

"Why?"

"Because I could've gotten it done far quicker than you," Tyrian said, as he put his hands behind his back, and walked away, snickering slightly. As he watched him do so, Adam took a seat on the throne, glaring slightly, as he spun Wilt through his fingers. He didn't care, he'd gotten what he wanted; now he just had to get what he deserved….

 **(in Mistral)**

With his flask empty, Qrow was in great need of a strong drink. Fortunately, he wasn't picky when it came to his bars, as he quickly found one, and ordered the strongest thing they had. He just wanted a quiet night of drinking, but his Semblance kicked back up again, and things weren't so good.

"Excuse me," a soft voice said. Qrow, barely hearing it, glanced over his shoulder to see a small boy, maybe slightly younger than Ruby.

"Looking a little young to be here," Qrow commented, looking the boy up and down. The kid was silent for a time, as his eyes trailed away.

"Yeah! I'm getting to it!" he suddenly hissed. Qrow arched his eyebrow at that.

"I'm here for my cane," he finally said. There was a smashing sound, as Qrow dropped his glass. His eyes widened, before his faced slowly broke into a smile.

"Good to see ya' again Oz."

 **Note: This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it'd be.**

 **Yes, Sienna is alive in this version. Note how she's less concerned with all the innocent people Adam killed, and more with how his actions are threatening the White Fang. I'm not going to go easy on her. I considered having Tyrian attack her, but I figured it would be OOC for him to try and do something Salem explicitly told him** not **to do.**

 **Most of this chapter was devoted to setting up events to happen. Seeing as there isn't much to differentiate in canon for Weiss and Yang's story, and Pyrrha can only do so much in what's essentially just a really long flight, I focused on RNJR and Sienna.**

 **Sidetone, I seriously think that they initially didn't conceive Leo as a Faunus, seeing as he isn't seen with his tail for most of the Volume into the last few episodes, during which its like it was always there. Maybe it was a hindsight thing.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Going into a mini-rant here, but this is something that has personally been stewing in me for a while: Jaune, and his chances for a happy ending and love. Now I get it, he's still a supporting character, and maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion, but I really like Jaune as a character, mostly because I really relate to him. Before I joined the military, I was the same kind of awkward screw up who wasn't good at anything while being surrounded by people who seemed so good at everything. To that end, I want him to have his own happy ending, and to find a person he can find love in now that Pyrrha's gone. Ren and Nora are supporting characters, and they found love (I know it's with each other, but it counts). I don't care who it is, Ruby, Weiss, or even a character we haven't even met yet. But I don't think RT will give him that love; maybe because they think Pyrrha was the only one for him, or maybe they just aren't interested in doing so; they had a chance to maybe give Jaune another chance with Weiss in Episode 6, which they didn't do, and then another chance to Episode 7, which they again didn't do** (that's so minor its not really worth a "spoiler warning) **. For all we know, Jaune might not even survive the series. Again, I know Jaune technically counts as a supporting character, but he's gone through too much to be denied happiness.**


	50. Dragon Ice

_**Dragon Ice**_

"Come on, I'm open!"

"You won't make it this time!"

A small group of kids in a small town were playing "keep-away". As they were playing though, something suddenly got their attention, as they all dropped the ball.

"I got it!" the boy in the middle as he picked up the ball said happily, "You're out!" However, none of his friends were looking at him, they were all looking up. That was when a shadow fell over their group, and they could only stare at the bright red dragon flying over them.

Pyrrha had to admit, she _may_ have occasionally veered off course to fly over a village a couple times. Not that she was necessarily seeking the attention, but more because in the world, she figured the people may have deserved a chance to have some wonder put in their lives. And in this day and age, what was more wondrous than a dragon?

She had been flying for a few days now, and she wasn't at all far from Mistral. Hopefully she would be there in just another day or so. Then she smelled something, something bad, like tar and smoke. It wasn't hard for her to realize what it was: Grimm. Not one to let a Grimm go free, Pyrrha swooped in the direction she could sense the smell.

Flying low over the trees Pyrrha followed her knows, until she noticed a small hut in the trees. Surrounding the hut was a pack of Beowolves. The hut had spikes sticking out, and stakes driven into the ground, marking it out as a safe house of sorts. The Grimm seemed to be trying to break in the house, presumably to get the person inside.

Pyrrha inhaled, and incinerated some of the Grimm with a single burst of red fire. She then swung her tail, and knocked few of them away. The remaining three tried to jump onto her back, but her scales harmlessly deflected their teeth and claws. Pyrrha let out a roar/hiss, as the bronze highlights in her body began to glow with heat, causing the beasts to jump off, leaving them vulnerable to her fire.

Once they were all gone, Pyrrha took a breath, exhaling some steam. She then heard the sound of the door opening, as she glanced over.

"What the hell?" Pyrrha watched as someone actually stumbled out of the hut. It was a tigress Faunus with a pair of tiger ears and some stripes on her arms.

" **Are you okay?"** Pyrrha asked.

"Y… yes," the woman asked, nodding her head slightly, clearly not sure what to think of what was happening to her. Not that Pyrrha blamed her. As Pyrrha looked down at her, she noticed her clothes were covered in blood.

" **You're hurt,"** Pyrrha said with a slight gasp.

"I'm fine," the woman said as she tried to pull herself back to her feet, only to fall back down, and relenting, "Okay… I'm hurt." Taking it upon herself to help, Pyrrha coiled around her protectively, as she bent down, heating up the blade at the end of her tail like she did earlier. The woman flinched before hissing in pain as Pyrrha drew her tail over the wound, cauterizing it.

" **What's your name?"** Pyrrha asked. The woman glared at the serpent for a time, before she sighed.

"Sienna. Sienna Khan."

 **(somewhere else in Anima)**

It had been a long voyage from Patch to Mistral, and Yang had been glad to finally be able to start the search. However, she wasn't actually looking for Ruby; that was completely pointless, she had no idea where Ruby had gone. She did have an idea on how to find her though.

Needing to refuel, Yang pulled her motorcycle into a gas station by the side of the road. Also in need of some refreshments, she made her way into the station's store.

"What can I get you?" the owner at the counter asked.

"Water," Yang answered as she came up. As she did, she noticed someone else in the room, a rather thuggish looking man leering at her. It wasn't like Yang hadn't gotten those kinds looks before; most guys were smart enough to keep their hands off, and those that weren't often couldn't use said hands very well after. This guy seemed to be one of the latter.

"You know, I don't think I've seen you here before," the thug said, approaching Yang, who glared down her sunglasses at him.

"What's it too you?" she asked.

"Well, it's pretty easy to get lost here. Maybe you need a guide."

"I can find my way no problem," Yang answered, looking away.

"You sure?" the thug continued, as he leered so hard Yang could almost literally feel it, "What with Grimm and now dragons bouncing around, you never can be too careful." At that, Yang actually took her sunglasses off.

"For all you know, maybe I'm one of the dragons," she said, leaning forward, "And maybe you hitting on me is a probable way of getting cooked." The thug blinked, before his sneer came back.

"Well, I've always been pretty interested in dragons," he said, as he slowly reached out and down. That was the last straw; Yang then proceeded to promptly grab that hand, and with a flick of her wrist, sent him straight out the door. The owner looked surprised at that, but then smiled.

"Thanks," he said, "He's been causing trouble all day here."

"Looking for the Branwen tribe?" the owner said slowly, arching an eyebrow, "Most people don't go looking for trouble like that."

"Don't worry about me," Yang answered, "I can take care of myself."

"And, I believe you," the owner, answered, gesturing his head to the guy out the door, "Still, those are dangerous people."

"Trust me, I know. So you got anything?"

"Not much, honestly. Just rumors that they were in the region." Yang frowned at that information, which didn't help at all. She then sighed, thanked the man, paid him, and took her leave. As she did, she walked past the same guy she had clobbered earlier slowly getting up.

"You want to try again?" Yang asked, as she put her glasses back on, "Because I'm not really in the mood."

"I overhead what you wanted," the thug said, as he looked up, wiping the side of his mouth, "I may be able to help you that." That actually got Yang's attention, as she looked at him, as she glared down her glasses, as he smiled at her, sans one tooth.

 **(with Sienna)**

It had been a weird couple of days for Sienna Khan. First she lost her position in a coup to Adam and had to to flee to her safe house in Anima only for Grimm to come after her. And now a talking dragon was protecting her.

When she heard of dragons appearing at Beacon, she had been just as flummoxed as everyone else, but figured it wasn't important, at least not at the time. Now a dragon had saved her life from the Grimm. Yes, this had been a rather weird day.

Now sitting on the deck of her safe house, holding her wound, she watched as the dragon gather some wood. She then bent down, and a tongue of flames escaped her mouth, starting the campfire.

" **So, why are you here?"** the dragon asked, looking at Sienna, as she slithered over to her.

"I was betrayed," Sienna explained. Sienna wasn't sure why, but she had a compulsion to talk to the dragon. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact she was in fact a dragon, and something about her seemed trustworthy. It helped that she saved Sienna's life. The dragon looked at her with what appeared to be sympathy.

" **That's always terrible,"** she said, nodding slightly **, "How'd you get away?"**

"I used my Semblance. It let's me immediately transport myself to locations I've marked."

" **That must be handy."** Sienna sighed, as she leaned back up to the sky, leaning against the cabin wall.

"I wish I knew what to do now," she said, "Everything I've ever had is gone now."

" **Do you.. have any family?"** the dragon asked. Sienna looked up in surprise at that question, before she paused to think.

"I've… I've got a sister," she admitted, "She's back in Menagerie."

" **You could always go there."** That actually gave Sienna pause, as she looked at the serpent. She honestly never gave it any thought; after she became High Leader, she had lost contact with her sister. Sienna wasn't sure if she'd been want to see her.

"Maybe," Sienna said slowly. It wasn't like she had any other options at this point.

" **Do you… need me to stay?"** the dragon asked.

"I'd need to let my Aura finish recharging," she said, "But it should be refreshed by morning. I"ll be fine till then." The dragon nodded at that.

" **Well, good luck,"** the dragon said, as she turned to fly away.

"Hey!" Sienna called, "Thank you." For a time, it looked like the dragon was smiling at her. With that, she opened her wings, and flapped into the air.Sienna just watched as the giant serpent flew away into the sky.

 **(somewhere over Anima)**

Weiss knew going in that the trip from Atlas to Mistral would be a long one, but didn't make her any less bored. She occupied her time by practicing with her glyphs; while she couldn't summon a big one, she made a few dragons, and a couple Arma Gigas. Occasionally she would channel her dragon powers, and turn her left hand into a claw; she also pondered if it would be at all possible to concentrate her power enough to get a pair of wings while otherwise remaining human.

It had been uneventful for the most part, which Weiss supposed was good. That said, there was one thing; as they were going, they got a distress call from another ship, which they couldn't do anything about, according to what the pilot said at least. Not that it was all acceptable to the former heiress; there was a lot _she_ could've done, and yet she didn't. She wasn't sure why.

They were flying over Lake Matsu, a place known for it's islands filled with gravity Dust that made them float. Weiss had to admit it was something of a sight, but being in a close apprenticeship with one of her creators did leave her somewhat jaded to some things that other might find spectacular. Of course, that didn't change the fact that all that gravity Dust could be rather dangerous.

"You sure you can navigate this area?" Weiss asked the pilot nervously.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be worrying about the islands," the pilot answered, "Grimm are pretty fond of this area. Honestly, I'm betting on the folks with the distress signal keeping the Grimm in the area occupied for the time."

"That's your plan?" Weiss asked, disturbed his his callousness, "That seems rather…. heartless."

"Hey, you want to get to Mistral in one piece or not?" Weiss opened then closed her mouth, as she sat back. She wonder what Darkness would say if he was here. That was when something out of the corner of her eye got her attention. It also got the pilot's….

"Holy gods!" he cried, as he suddenly swerved to avoid it, throwing Weiss around in the cargo slightly. As she regained her thoughts, she saw it was a Mistrali ship, presumably the same ship that had let out the distress signal. It was on fire, as it plunged down into the water. The culprits quickly reared their heads, as several Grimm that resembled wasps emerged from the islands, their eyes fixated on Weiss' transportation.

"Lancers, gods damned Lancers," the pilot grumbled, as he flicked a couple switches on his display. The ship picked up speed, but the Lancers managed to keep pace, as they fired their stingers, which were attached to tendrils connected with their body. The stingers punctured the hull with ease, slowing the ship slightly.

"Damn it," the pilot growled. As she stared out the window at the Grimm, Weiss' eyes narrowed. She then walked over to the loading bay, and slammed one of the buttons, causing the door to open.

"What're you doing?!" the pilot demanded.

"What we should've done from the get go," Weiss answered. As she stared out onto the lake, the Lancers coming up behind them, she drew her weapon.

"May the Brother of Darkness be with us," she said.

" **I always am."** Weiss looked around, but saw that Darkness wasn't apparently around, so she just dismissed that as a trick of the mind.

"Didn't peg you for the religious type, kid," the pilot said, "I'd probably say screw him at this point."

"Please don't blaspheme with me," Weiss hissed, as she ran her finger along Myrtenaster, as it lit up with fire Dust. She then swung the rapier out, sending a ball of fire that knocked on Lancer out of the sky. She did that a couple times, before summoning up one of her glyphs, and sending bursts of ice at the monsters, knocking them all out of the sky. Unfortunately, that only knocked out a few of what was an entire swarm. It was pretty apparent that Weiss' standing tactic of just wiping hem out one at a time wasn't efficient.

As she watched more of them approach, Weiss then narrowed her eyes, looked at her weapon, as she took a breath knowing what she really had to do. With that, she then sheathed Myrtenaster, and held up her arms, as she started to glow, and let herself fall out of the airship.

"Kid!" the pilot screamed as he saw her fall out. Granted, he couldn't really dwell on that for long, as more of the Lancers suddenly came up at him. He tried to avoid them, but the Grimm were proving far more nimble, as several came at him at once. Fortunately, there was a massive burst of white mist, and several of the Lancers were suddenly flash frozen.

"What the…" Right then, a great white form soared by. As the pilot looked closer, he saw that it was a white dragon with massive wings.

"Well… that's a new one," was all the pilot could say when he could finally form the words.

In spite of being worried she was out of practice, Weiss nimbly soared through the islands, letting out another burst of icy mist, freezing another couple Lancers instantly. To be able to fly again, far from Atlas, far from her father, and to be able to go wherever she wanted, it had been a while since Weiss felt this free. A couple of Lancers fired their stingers at her, but they harmlessly bounced of her scales.

Weiss turned to face them, as she breathed more ice at them, but they managed to avoid. Suddenly a strange sensation went through Weiss' body, all the way down to the tip of her tail. From said tip came a couple of thin spines that looked like icicles. With a flick of her tail, the icicles then shout out, and pierced several more Lancers, destroy them instantly.

 _Didn't know I could do that,_ she thought, but she certainly was going to complain about it. She quickly focused again, and created another couple icicles that brought down another Lancer. While she was doing this, the pilot was watching from his cockpit, and chuckled nervously.

"Wish I had my Scroll," he commented. This would've been quite the thing to post on I-Tube. That was when his ship got knocked again, this time by a march larger beast. It was a Queen Lancer, which Weiss also noticed.

 _This just got a lot harder_ she thought to herself as she dove back towards the ship. The beast's attention turned towards the giant reptile coming at it, and it moved to face her.

Fortunately, while the Queen still had some size on Weiss, Weiss still had agility. She quickly avoided the stinger, before turning around breathing more ice, but her spread wasn't large enough to more than freeze a portion of it. While she knew freezing the Lancer one piece at a time would take too long, Weiss figured that was still probably her best option. Aiming for its wings, Weiss dove at the Lancer, but it proved faster than its size let on.

That was when she let out a cry of pain, as she felt herself being yanked back. She looked over to see that another couple Lancers had pierced her wing membrane. While Weiss could still fly, it now hurt a lot to do so. She quickly learned her neck back, and released her ice, and though she couldn't hit the Lancers, she did hit their stingers, breaking them away.

Right then, Weiss got slammed in the side by the Queen, sending her careening towards the water. She managed to open her wings, as she soared over the water, creating a thin line of ice in her wake as she glided over it, before she flapped back up. A couple more Lancers came at her, as she released her ice breath, flash freezing them all at once.

With that, all the Lancers save for the Queen were slain, as the Grimm dove at the dragon. The two crashed together again, and while the thick scales of the dragon deflected all the blows, but Weiss proved too small to do much damage against the much bigger monster. Nonetheless, she continued clawing and biting it too little avail.

Weiss then inhaled deeper than she ever had in her life, as she felt the dragon magic surge through her body. With one solid exhale, she released a huge cloud of mist, big enough to consume the Grimm's entire body. When the mist faded, the Queen was frozen solid, before it plunged down to the lake.

Victorious, Weiss veered back towards the airship, which was still not in a good way. She raked her claws into the ship's body, and did everything she could to slow its fall, but it was too big. And despite Weiss' best efforts, it was too heavy, and it crashed into the ground. Weiss was sent tumbling head over tail through the trees, and with that, it all went blank…

 **Note: This was actually the first time Weiss got some real dragon action in this fic now that I think I about it.**

 **So Sienna has met with Pyrrha (though neither clearly knew who the other was). To clarify, Sienna's Semblance is essentially like Raven's, only based on locations instead of people.**

 **I'm on leave for the Holidays now, so I'll try and get some more writing done before the year's up. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **I'm going to make an announcement regarding the poll: the poll has been taken down, and a new one has been posted. I've narrowed it down to two people: Ruby and Weiss. Despite my dabbles and considerations, Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha never got enough to make the cut (Penny was only ever up there as a joke), maybe in another story. Again, the poll is not to determine who he's going to end up with, just to get a sense of which is more popular. Something I recently learned was that White Knight is apparently Kara Eberle's favorite ship; maybe there's something there. Anyways, take a look at the poll, and give your opinion.**


	51. Of Vultures and Chameleons

_**Of Vultures and Chameleons**_

" _All is ready, Ma'am,"_ Talos said _, "When the time is right, I will strike."_

"Very good, though I cannot stress enough how important timing will be in this instant," Salem answered. At the time, she was communicating with Talos through a type of Grimm called a Seer, with Cinder standing beside her.

" _Copy."_

"Oh, and Talos," Salem continued, "You should know I expect complete success from someone…. like you."

" _I understand."_ With that, the feed from the Seer cut out.

"You trust that…. thing with plans like these?" Cinder asked.

"He's strong, he's capable, and above all else, he's predictable," Salem explained, "That make's him an asset worth maintaining." Cinder was quiet, knowing better than to second guess her mistress.

"Everything is falling into place in Mistral," Salem said, as she sat back in her throne, still gazing into the Seer, "It is only a matter of time. You must now go there, assist Hazel in finding the Spring Maiden."

"What about… the girl?" Cinder asked slowly, but venomously. Her actual memory of the skirmish at the top of the tower was admittedly rather sketchy. Most of what she had consisted flashes of a fight, and of a serpentine shape breathing fire. But there was one thing she remembered perfectly clear: the face of one Pyrrha Nikos.

"Be patient, little one," Salem said, as she glanced at Cinder, "You'll have your revenge soon, and you'll have your power." That thought sent a shiver down Cinder's spine. That was another thing she remembered from the tower: power.

She couldn't pinpoint what exactly that power was, but it was immense, greater than anything she had ever felt before. It was just as great, if not greater than that of the Maidens. Cinder had kept that detail to herself, even from Emerald and Mercury, even from Salem.

"Now go," Salem said, "You have a job to do." Cinder bowed slightly, as she turned, and exited the room. Once the doors were shut, she glanced back at the now closed door. If there were two things she had learned by being in league with Salem, it was that she delivered on her promises, and that she was powerful. Both things mattered quite a bit to the young woman,

"So, you're going to Mistral?" Cinder glanced over to see Magenta leaning on the wall, her tail flicking behind her.

"What's it to you?" Cinder sneered as she passed the Faunus.

"Oh nothing, I'm just going to miss our training sessions," Magenta answered calmly, "Sparring with you was always quite entertaining." Cinder responded by kicking out, only for her foot to cleanly phase through Magenta like she wasn't even there. The cat just chuckled, as Cinder, who knew that would happen, just rolled her eye, and kept walking.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Ms. Fall," she called out, "There have been rumors of dragons appearing in Anima again." At that, Cinder stopped, and glanced up at Magenta, and though she couldn't see her mouth behind her mask, she knew she was grinning at her. Cinder sucked in her breath, as she kept walking, leaving the grinning cat behind.

 **(on Menagerie)**

"So, do we have any idea what the White Fang is going to do?" Sun asked.

"No," Blake answered, "It could be anything at this point?" She, her family, and her friend were gathered at the table again (Blake found they had been doing that a lot lately), discussing their options with the White Fang. The furthest they had gotten so far was her father trying to arrange a meeting with the Council of Elders; if nothing else, they could maybe help get the push started in Menagerie.

"Oh Sienna," Kali said softly, shaking her head. That was when their was a knocking on the door, Blake volunteered to answer it. And when she opened it, she saw a person she had never hoped to see again.

"Ms. Blake."

"Slate," Blake answered, narrowing her eyes. Standing before was a vulture Faunus. He was bald, save for a few stray strands atop his scalp; he had a prominent hooked nose, and his animal trait was a noticeable pair of vulture wings under his arms. His name was Slate Skek, and he was the personal chamberlain for the Council of Elders. Blake never liked him in anyway.

"A pleasure to see you again, Ma'am," Slate said, "Was such a sad moment when you decided to go to Beacon, hmmmm." Blake tried not to wince openly at that whimper, which was Slate's trademark verbal tic.

"What're you doing here?" she demanded.

"It's okay, Blake," Ghira said as he came forward, "I invited him here. We had to discuss arranging a meeting with the Council. Sir Skek, please come in." Though Blake was certainly one to protest her father, she knew she shouldn't at this point, so she stepped out of the way.

"Mhmmm," Slate hummed as he moved past her. Blake just glared at him as he walked by; most Faunus always had an animal trait to their name, but that was often the only thing that linked them to said animal. But Slate…. everything about him screamed "vulture", and nothing about it was good.

"Well, that guy's not creepy at all," Sun said as he stood next to Blake.

"Don't trust him," Blake hissed.

"Why are you telling me?" the monkey responded, "Don't tell me your dad does."

"I don't think so," Blake answered, "But the Council does, and that's the scariest part."

"Can I offer you some tea, Sir Skek?" Kali answered.

"Oh thank you," Slate answered, as Kali poured him a cup, "Always so nice to come here."

"So, when would be a good time to meet with the Council?" Ghira asked, as he sat down. Blake and Sun stood the side, neither wanting to be any nearer to the vulture.

"Not sure," Slate answered, as he sipped his tea, "Council's very busy these days. Fall of Vale has put other kingdoms on edge. Menagerie could be in danger; Chieftan should know better than anyone."

"Trust me, I completely understand," Ghira answered, as he glared into his tea cup.

"Mhmmm," Slate hummed.

"But what I'm referring to has far reaching consequences for all of Menagerie, and potentially all Faunus," Ghira continued, "It concerns the White Fang."

"Ah, the White Fang," Slate said, leaning on his hand, "Ruffians, one and all."

"That's a way of putting it," Sun quipped from the sidelines. Blake elbowed him, but smiled slightly at his word.

"Well, changes things," the vulture muttered, as his feathers ruffled slightly, "Council should know of such a matter."

"You have to make sure they understand just how important this is," Ghira said, leaning forward. At that, Slate leaned back, folding his arms, apparently considering it, though he kept looking at Ghira. Blake didn't like the look, like her father was dying, and Slate was wondering how soon he'd be able eat him.

"Perhaps can arrange a meeting within in the week," he said, "But can make no promises."

"Thank you, I'm just looking for you to try," Ghira answered, "It would make a world of difference."

"Always happy to help Chieftain," Slate answered with a smile, as he stood up, "Is all you need talk about?"

"Yes, thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Hmmmm," Slate whimpered, as he glanced at Blake, "And always pleasure to see you, Ms. Blake." Blake's glare just hardened, as Slate took his leave. Once he was gone, Blake still felt his presence linger in the room, and decided to step out to try and get away from it. She stepped out onto the balcony to get some fresh hair, leaning on the railing, and watching the trees. As she did, her ears twitched slightly.

"You came back," Blake said, as she turned around. Standing on the railing before her, was Ilia, wearing her mask again, though she took it off in short order. Blake just scowled, as she turned to leave.

"Wait!" Ilia said, holding up her hand, "I just want to talk."

"About what?" Blake said, "There's nothing you can do you to convince me to do anything."

"Just… hear me out," Ilia said, "You need to leave Menagerie."

"Why?" Blake less asked and more _demanded_.

"You just need to," Ilia said, "I can't protect you anymore."

"How curious that you seem so intent on protecting _her_ and only her." Despite herself, Blake let herself smile as Shade approached, having long gotten used to her teacher's tendency to warp into existence nearby.

"You," Ilia hissed at the sight of the doctor, not at all happy to see the man who threw everything for a loop last time.

"Yes, me," Shade answered. Ilia took a deep breath to calm her building nerves.

"Blake, I swear to the Spirits…"

"Poor beings to swear to," Shade interrupted. Blake decided not to share the truth that the Spirits didn't exist to Ilia.

"I have to do this," Ilia continued, opting to try and ignore the doctor, "You have to understand that."

"No you don't," Blake said, "And no, I don't understand. How you can justify everything the White Fang has been doing." Ilia's fists clenched, as she flashed red, before she inhaled in an attempt to calm herself down, but she remained red.

"So no other Faunus children have to go through what I did," she said, as she turned to go, "You used to believe that too."

"Before you go, tell me something, Ms. Amitola," Shade suddenly said, "How many _human_ children are now orphans because of what _you_ have done?" The chameleon froze, as her stomach did a triple backflip, and she turned a sickly shade of green. For her own, Blake was rather flabbergasted by those words too; she hadn't told Shade Ilia's story, though she supposed things like that hadn't stopped him before. Ilia stuttered slightly, before she leapt away into the night.

"How did…," Blake slowly asked.

"That child…. interests me," the doctor answered plainly, as he floated onto the railing, before looking towards Blake, "She will return, be ready." With that, he stepped off the railing, and disappeared into the night, leaving Blake to stare into the shadows. She thought she could vaguely hear the sound of what might've been retching in the darkness.

"Was that Dr. Shade just now?" Sun asked as he joined Blake outside, "Where'd he go?"

"No idea," Blake answered plainly, as she smiled and shook her head slightly, "He does that some….times…" She trailed off as she sensed something in the air; it was a familiar sensation, but one that she knew quite well from her time in the White Fang. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she jumped off the railing down to ground level.

"Blake!" Sun called as he followed her. Blake went around to the back of the house, when she found the cause leaning against it. It was a tigress Faunus with dark skin and dark hair, someone Blake very quickly recognized.

"Sienna?" Blake asked, her eyes widening. The tigress shifted as she looked up at her, slowly pulling herself to her feet.

"Hey Blake," she said weakly. It was then that the cat noticed the gash across her abdomen.

"What happened to you?!" she cried, as she hurried over to help her former leader.

"It's… a long story," Sienna answered, not in a position to deny the help.

"Mom!" Upon hearing her daughter's call, Kali came out the back door.

"Blake? What's the….," she stopped talking, as she saw who Blake was helping, crying, "Sienna!"

"Hey Kali," Sienna said weakly, as she took a step forward, only to tumble down slightly. Blake managed to catch her, before Kail ran over, and helped her into their house.

"Who's she?" Sun asked as he came over to Blake.

"Sienna Khan," Blake answered, "She's the High Leader of the White Fang."

"Wait, she's the leader of the White Fang?"

"That's what I said."

"What's she doing here then?" Sun asked, confused.

"Well it does make sense," Blake responded, as she looked at her friend, "She's my mom's sister."

"….. say what?"

 **(in Mistral)**

Jaune had long thought that growing up with seven sisters gave him a decent understanding of the female mind. Beacon had disproved that, and his latest interaction with Ruby had solidified that. He needed someone to talk to, and thinking he needed someone with more earthly wisdom than Nora or Ren. Maybe even some _divine_ wisdom. Jaune found his horned teacher sitting in the living room, a book floating in front him, as he sipped a cup of what looked like hot chocolate.

"Uh…. excuse me," he said softly.

"You are excused," Shade answered, as he glanced up, "What is it?"

"I need some advice," Jaune answered.

"Ah," Shade said, looking back to his book, "I suppose I am a good source of said advice. What do you seek?"

"It's…. kinda embarrassing." Shade rolled his eyes slightly at that.

"Ruby, sorta, kinda…. kissed me," Jaune finally pushed out, "On the cheek." At that, Shade actually looked up from his book, which snapped itself shut.

"And?" he asked, looking towards his student.

"I…. I think she likes me," Jaune continued, "Like, she _like_ likes me."

"Is that so?" Shade inquired, folding his arms, "And do you return those feelings?" Jaune opened and closed her mouth.

"Well…. uh…. she's my partner," he said, "And my best friend."

"That is not what I asked." Jaune clenched his teeth at that, as he leaned down and stared at the floor. He…. wasn't sure. If was being completely honest, ever since Darkness had appeared, he had stopped thinking about romance, and hadn't given much thought to anything more than friendship. But the thought of it going further than that with Ruby….

Well… what was wrong with Ruby? She was sweet, funny, caring, and while Jaune maybe couldn't call her "beautiful", she had a simple cuteness to her that was arguably better than being beautiful. There was a lot to like about Ruby Rose, of that Jaune could be sure.

Those thoughts caused Jaune to think about the other girls in his circle of friends. Yang, Pyrrha, and Blake were definitely his friends, and he cared for them. But, he was pretty sure he didn't feel _that_ way about them, and as for Weiss….. Jaune wasn't sure about her. Of course he'd gone to the dance with her, and there was a lot to like about her as well: she was beautiful, polite, smart, and loyal to her friends.

"Well, I am afraid this is a wholly mortal issue," Shade said, "I can offer no wisdom on this."

"Great," Jaune said, slumping, to which Shade chuckled slightly. That was when the door opened, and Qrow hobbled in, clearly drunk off his ass, to which Jaune sighed slightly.

"Yikes," Nora said, as she and Ren entered into the room, before calling, "Ruby, come and get your uncle!"

"Do you have anywhere I can put him?" The group's attention was then drawn to a small guy with brown hair, who was trying to support Qrow under his arm.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked. Before the boy could answer, Ruby walked out with a pout.

"Can't a girl read her doujinshi in peace?" she whined, before seeing her uncle, and sighing, "Uncle Qrow…"

"I found him! I found him!" Qrow cackled, as Ren helped the boy set him on the couch. The kid then turned to face the teens.

"Uh… hi! My name's Oscar Pine," he said, before pausing briefly, "But you guys may know me as… Professor Ozpin?" RNJR could only stare at the kid, as those words set in, while Qrow let out another cackle which turned into a belch. Shade's eyes narrowed at the sight of the boy.

"I believe some explanation may yet be in order," he said, as he rose to his feet.

 **Note: This would be how I'd describe Team RWBY: Ruby is cute, Weiss is beautiful, Blake is attractive, and Yang is hot.**

 **While it might be apparent to some, it might not be for others, so I'll confirm that Slate is based on the Skeksis from Jim Henson's** _ **The Dark Crystal**_ **, specifically skekSil the Chamberlain (who is the best character in my opinion). Nod to SimplyChristian for giving me that question Shade could ask Ilia. That should give her a lot to think about. The idea of Sienna being Blake's aunt is actually from another fanfic** _ **RWBY: Scars**_ **, which is a very well written story, but not really for me personally (a bit too angsty for my tastes). The idea of Sienna having a personal relationship with Blake though I thought could potentially suit the setting well, and it does give Blake a more personal stake in this.**

 **Next chapter I hope for us to see Yang again.**

 **You may have noticed that Cinder's antagonism is geared towards Pyrrha instead of Ruby this time around, for understandable reasons.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	52. An Old Face

_**An Old Face**_

Weiss' head felt like she'd just crashed through a forest. Then she remembered that was _exactly_ what had happened. Groaning as she held her head, she slowly leaned up, looking around, realizing she seemed to be in a cage of sorts, and her hands were bound.

"Ah, the princess is awake." Glancing over, she saw a number of thugs advancing on her. The apparent leader of them was a young woman with short brown hair and blue eyes. She had Myrtenaster on her shoulder, and she was at Weiss the way a hawk might look at a mouse.

"We'd be set for life with this kind of ransom," one of the other thugs said, sneering down at the former heiress.

"Just make sure she's not harmed," the woman said, "Her daddy won't pay us as well if she's damaged."

"She is also right here, and can be addressed directly." That got the thugs attention, as they all looked down at her. The woman scoffed slightly, looking at Weiss

"Where am I?" Weiss asked, as she glared at her captor.

"Anima, and that's all I feel like telling you," the woman answered. Quickly deciding she didn't like her, Weiss' eyes narrowed.

"Trust me," she said, "You really don't want to do this." The woman snorted slightly.

"Why's that? You think your big sister's going to come and rescue you?" she asked, "Because newsflash: Winter Schnee's in Atlas. Ironwood closed the borders." Weiss was surprised to hear that, but otherwise remained silent, as she took a breath to calm herself.

"It's not my sister you'd need to worry about," she then said, "It's me." The goons stared at her for a time, before they all burst out laughing like hyena Faunus.

"Yeah! Watch out for the tiny girl in a dress and a pig sticker!" one said between guffaws.

"Just keep telling yourself that, kid," the woman said, before turning on her heels, and walking away, her goons following her.

"Worried about her?" another one said, "Hah! I think we'd have more trouble with an old farmer." As they left, Weiss took a deep breath, as she held up her hand, which turned into a claw.

"Yes, keep telling yourselves that," she said, smilign to herself, "Keep telling yoursleves that."

 **(in Mistral)**

"Maybe he aged backwards?"

"It's gotta be possession!"

"Maybe it's reincarnation!"

"This is weird!"

"Yes, this is quite weird," Oscar sad with a sigh. Now RNJR was no stranger to bizarre, supernatural events at this point. They had all seen Darkness doing weirder things, but that didn't make this particular even any less weird. As they were huddled around the farm boy, Shade was sitting in his arm chair, his hands folded, looking directly at, or perhaps more accurately right through Oscar.

"Alright, kids," Qrow said, as he came up with some coffee, "Simmer down. You've seen crazier stuff than this."

"Yeah, I guess he's got us there," Jaune said. Oscar was silent, as he was aparently listening to something.

"He wants to speak with you," he then said.

"'He'?" Ren asked.

"Ozpin," Oscar said, and in short order, his eyes flashed yellow. He slouched down slightly, before leaning back up, though when he did, he had a much more confident look on his face.

"It's good to see you all again," he said. RNJR stared at him for a time.

"Professor Ozpin?" Ruby asked slowly.

"Indeed I am," Oz said with a smile, as he leaned forward on his cane, "It is good to see you are all well."

"Okay," Jaune said, holding up his hands, "Just what the hell is going on here?" Oz chukcled slightly at that.

"Just bear with me," he said, "This may take a moment to explain." With that, Oz broke down everything: his reincarnation, his curse, and his role in all that was going ong. As he was doing so, the students eyes slowly went to Shade, which didn't go unnoticed by the professor.

"Dr. Shade," Oz said, "I… did not expect to see you."

"And yet, here I am," Shade said.

"Forgive my bluntness," Oz said, glaring at the doctor, "But I fail to see why _you_ have to be here."

"I have a vested interest in these children," Shade answered, with a shrug. Oz's glared hardened at the man.

"Why should I believe you?" he demanded, "Since the moment we met, you have not demonstrated the least bit of trustworthiness." He looked around expecting support from at least Qrow, but they were all looking at each other, like they knew something Oz didn't, something big.

"Show him," Ruby finally said to the doctor.

"Are you sure?" Shade answered.

"He's trusting us with all this information," Ruby said, "We should trust him with this."

"Yes," Oz said, frowning at the doctor, "And I believe some explanation may yet be in order. We can start with who you are?"

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Nora said with a grin.

"What're you talking about?" Oz asked, glancing at the ginger girl.

"Very well then," Shade said, as he rose to his feet, and held up his arms, as his Aura started glowing. As he did so, a strange sensation came over Oz. A feeling of familiarity, like he felt the power coming off the Faunus before, but he knew that to be impossible.

"What're…." He couldn't finish, as there was a flash of dark energy, and with that, standing in Shade's place, was the God of Darkness.

" **It has been a long time, Ozma,"** the god said, folding his arms behind his back. Before Oz could even balk at the sight before him, the god snapped his fingers, as suddenly, everything around them froze, as if time had just been paused.

 _No…_ he thought. The god then flicked his wrist, and Ozma was expelled from Oscar's body. He flashed through all the different faces he had over the ages, until he finally settled on, of all things, his original one. The wizard stared at his hands in surprise, never thinking he'd see them again. That was when his gaze was drawn back to the god, who loomed over him. His thoughts started running a thousand miles an hour, as he stared up at the face he hadn't seen for eons.

" _No! No!"_ he said _, "You can't be back! The Relics…. the God of Light…. Salem…."_ He as then literally silenced, as Darkness made a zipping gesture, and Ozma's voice vanished.

" **Now, I am only going to say this once,"** the god said **, "I am not here the judgement my brother foretold, the children** _ **do**_ **know who I am, why I am here is no concern of your's, and you are not to tell them anything of the past. Is that clear?"** He then reversed the zipping motion, allowing Ozma to talk again.

" _I… I…."_

" **Is. That. Clear?"** Darkness said as bluntly as he could, leaning forward slightly. It took him some time, but Ozma slowly nodded.

" **Very good,"** Darkness said **, "Now bear in mind, I have not figured out the consequences of you breaking any of these rules, but that only gives me options."** With that, the god flicked his wrist. Suddenly, Ozma was sucked back into Oscar's body, and time started back up. A completely dead silence hung in the air for a long time, as the god stood in the room, looking over the group.

" **Do you have anything to say to me?"** Darkness asked plainly,.

"I…. I…..," Oz said slowly, not at all knowing what to say in his presence. Fortunately, RNJR came to the rescue.

"Is it true?" Jaune asked, "Did you curse him?"

" **Actually no, it was my brother,"** Darkness answered.

"Why?"

" **That is a question best left to him,"** the god answered. The team looked at him for a time, but had been around him enough to understand not to press for answers.

"Well… tell him about the Spirits," Ruby said.

"Y… Yes!" Oz suddenly said, "Tell me all about these 'Spirits'?"

" **Are** you **giving** me **an instruction?"** Darkness asked, glancing at the wizard.

"I… uh…." Fortunately, Darkness held up his hand.

" **Relax, I meant that in jest."**

"You still need to work on your way of joking," Jaune said, rolling his eyes. Oz was somewhat confused by that; the almighty creator, who had raised him from the dead, was making a joke? It almost didn't seem possible. With that Darkness explained what the Spirits were to Oz, as the wizard did his best to take it all in.

"Well… I can't say I've heard much about them, aside from them being worshipped by the Faunus," he responded, "But if they are also players in this game, it seems are problems are now much bigger."

" **Do not underestimate these children,"** Darkness said, gesturing with his head **, "They have already slain one."**

"Is that so?" Oz asked, "How, may I ask?" RNJR exchanged looks with each other at the mention of that.

"Well," Ruby said slowly, "Remember the dragons at Beacon"

"Yes, wh…," Oz began, before suddenly putting two and two together, "Wait? How did…"

"Take a guess?" Jaune said, jerking his thumb at the god. Oz looked at Darkness, then back at the teams, then at Darkness again.

"I remember when things were so much simpler," he said, as he collapsed back into his chair.

"Makes what you did to me seem pretty small now, huh?" Qrow quipped.

"What he did to you?" Nora asked.

 **(somewhere else on Anima)**

Yang motored down the road, with the thug from the gas station (whom she found out was named "Shay D. Mann") on the back.

"Just up here," Shay said, pointing to a small clearing, and once Yang pulled into it, he jumped off, "I'm going to alert the others." He then quickly hurried out into the trees. Yang, immediately realizing what he was doing, rolled her eyes as she took off her glasses and slipped them into her pocket. She then started doing some stretches in anticipation for what was coming next. And, true to form, Shay emerged from the trees with several other armed goons.

"Seriously?" Yang said, glancing at him like he was a side note, "You think I didn't see this coming?"

"Alright blondie," Shay said, as he held up a pistol, "We'll be taking your money, your bike, and your arm. Now be a good girl and…" He didn't get to finish as Yang was almost immediately on top of him, knocking out another tooth. The rest of the thugs quickly gathered to try and take her on. "Try" was the key word to that. To call what took place a "fight", would be being very generous. The thugs each lasted maybe a couple minutes against the dragon champion, and she wasn't even using any of said dragon power.

"So, which is the way?" Yang asked, picking up Shay by the collar. The man just pointed weakly.

"Thank you." With that, she dropped the punk, and kept walking.

"You can't beat our leader," Shay said, "You should just get out of here why you have the chance."

"I don't need to," Yang answered cooly, as she glanced at him, "I'm her daughter after all." With that, she kept walking, leaving Shay to balk after her.

"I am so dead," he muttered.

 **Note: Well, there you have it, the thing everyone was waiting to happen happened. This was harder than you'd think actually, because how would Oz have reacted to one of the gods he knew and feared appearing before him for the first time in ages?**

 **Beside that scene, though, not much happens in this chapter. Again, I approach chapters mostly as if they were scenes instead of episodes, so I can give other scenes proper room to breathe and set in. But we've got Weiss and Yang set up for their future scenes. What is a raven to a dragon?**

 **Be sure to review.**


	53. Family

_**Family**_

"Ow!" Sienna hissed, "Watch it!"

"Don't you take that tone with me, little sister," Kali scolded, as she finished tying the bandages, "I knew this would happen sooner or later." Sienna just grunted, as she looked away. Upon seeing that, Kali sighed, as she put a hand on her shoulder.

"I am glad you're okay," she said softly. Sienna looked up at her sister, and sighed.

"Same here, Kali," she said. They were in Ghira's office, while he was out to meet with the head of the Menagerie law enforcement, with Sienna lying back on the couch there. Meanwhile, Blake and Sun watched from the side, as the monkey briefly leaned into his friend.

"So those two are related?" he asked.

"They are," Blake confirmed, looking at him, "Why?"

"Nothing," Sun said with a slight shrug, "Just they don't look much alike."

"Have you even met Ruby and Yang?" Blake asked sarcastically, frowning at him.

"Good point," Sun said after a brief pause.

"Blake!" Sienna called slightly, trying to sit up, only for her sister to push her back down. Having known this was coming, Blake took a breath, and slowly approached the bed where her aunt lay, her mother stepping aside.

"Hey Sienna," she said.

"Just 'Sienna'?" the tigress asked, with a weak smile, "Is that anyway for a niece to talk to her aunt?" Blake was silent, as she stared at the floor, really unsure what to say. With that, Sienna decided to keep talking.

"How's your father?" she asked.

"He's fine," Blake said plainly, "He's been doing better after he left the White Fang."

"Blake," Kali scolded softly.

"It's okay, Kali," Sienna said, holding up her hand, "We were going to address the Goliath in the room at some point. Better sooner rather than later." Unfortunately, an awkward silence set in over the room, which was broken when Sun sneezed slightly, earning a couple annoyed glances sent his way.

"Sorry," Sun said, "Still not used to all the different plants here." Blake rolled her eyes, before looking back to Sienna, or more specifically the wound on her abdomen.

"Adam did this to you, didn't he?" she asked. Sienna nodded at that.

"I was an idiot to let down my guard with him around," she said, "I should've kicked him out the moment he organized that attack on Beacon."

"He told me he was in league with powerful, dangerous people," Sienna explained, "He told me that we can use them to put the Faunus on top. He said the humans would be _our_ slaves." The thought of that made Blake's blood run cold; turning the humans into the Faunus' slaves? It was… sickening.

"That's horrible!" she said, leaning back, "He's crazy!"

"Yes, he is," Sienna said, but she said it slowly, and only after a pause. That didn't go unnoticed by Blake, who narrowed her eyes.

"You aren't seriously pondering the possibility, are you?" she all but demanded.

"No!" Sienna said, "Of course not. It wouldn't get anywhere. The human still outnumber us, we couldn't beat them if we tried. Even more Faunus would die." Despite Sienna's expectations, her niece's eyes narrowed at that, but the next words came from a voice Sienna hd never heard before.

"So that is you are objecting on the basis it will result in more Faunus deaths, not that you oppose the Faunus dominating the humans?" _Aw crap_ Blake thought, as she saw Shade float through an open window. While she didn't doubt that Shade would be able to shred Sienna to shreds, that was honestly exactly what Blake was worried about; Sienna was a proud woman, and wouldn't take to Shade's over spoken snark very well, probably.

"What are you doing here?" Kali asked, "This's kind of a private, family thing."

"Mom, it's okay," Blake said softly.

"Blake, I understand you trust him, but…"

"It's more than that," Blake said, "I trust him wholly with my life." Kali was silent for a time, but decided she trusted her daughter.

"So, Sienna Khan, former High Leader of the White Fang," Shade said, as he approached the tigress, arms folded behind his back, "A pleasure."

"Who the hell are you?" Sienna demanded, sitting up, despite her sister's protests.

"The is Dr. Shade," Blake said, "He's my teacher."

"Blake's teacher, huh?" Sienna said, eyeing the ram Faunus, "From Beacon?"

"You could say that," Blake said, not sure any other description could be used for him.

"I have been looking forward to meeting you," Shade said, "I wanted to see the person who turned the White Fang into what it was."

"Oh great," Sienna said, rolling her eyes, "One of _those_ Faunus."

"What is that supposed mean?" Kali asked, frowning at her sister.

"One of the Faunus who still hold to that we can work with the humans to get the results," Sienna answered, "When it just doesn't work."

"You're wrong!" Blake suddenly snapped, surprising everyone in the room with the outburst, save for Shade, who expected it, "Your method doesn't work either!" Sienna looked at Blake carefully, before sighing slightly.

"Look Blake, I don't approve of what Adam did at Beacon," she said, "It put the White Fang in a position…."

" _That's_ what you were concerned about?" Blake demanded, "The risk it posed to the White Fang?"

"Vale needed a kick in the teeth," Sienna said, "Maybe now people will know what happens to the kingdoms that still treat Faunus the way they do."

"Those were innocent people!" Blake said.

"They were humans!" Sienna blurted, "They got what they deserved!" The air in the room turned as hard as steel, as those words set in.

"Sienna!" Kali scolded. Sienna seems to realize what she just said, as she looked down. Tears began to well in Blake's eyes, as her chin started to quiver, and she hurriedly left the room.

"Blake!" Sun called as he followed her out. Kali glared at her sister, before she also followed. That just left Sienna in the room with Shade, who looked at her with interest of all things.

"To think, all that hate," he said, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Its not hate if they deserve it," Sienna said, laying back down to stare at the ceiling. Shade was silent for a second, apparently considering what she just said.

"What did they do to you?" he asked.

"What?"

"Hatred like that is created, not born," Shade said, "What did the humans do to you?" The tigress was silent, as she kept staring at the ceiling.

"I do not believe that the amount boards on the ceiling has changed," the teacher said plainly.

"My mother died when I was very young, Kali has some memory of her, but I don't," Sienna finally explained, "He worked at a construction site in Mistral for some random nobleman. The nobleman treated my father like a beast of burden he could whistle up and put to work, and occasionally whip if he wasn't going fast enough. My father just gritted his teeth and accepted it, so he could continue to support Kali and myself, but when it went to far, and he dared to push back…" She trailed off, blinking away some tears.

"What I did was the only way to get the results we needed," Sienna continued, "The only thing humans understand is fear. Ghira's method…. it bred complacently, telling the humans that they can abuse us and all we'll do is march and shout. They had to know if they hurt that Faunus, we'll hurt them worse. That was the only way the humans would ever accept us, if they looked at a Faunus and saw a person to be feared, and not an animal to be abused." Shade listened to her as she ranted, paying close attention.

"It truly is amazing," he then said, "How absolutely and utterly incorrect that entire statement was." Sienna balked at the doctor for a moment, somewhat astounded by the bluntness at which he talked.

"Wha….," was all she could force out.

"Your entire outlook is based on the logic that if the humans fear you, they will accept you," Shade explained, "First off, that is simply false; acceptance, by its very nature, is not based on fear, it is based on respect."

"What's the difference?"

"Fear is based on antagonism, which builds in a person as time goes on. That antagonism will inevitably lead to hate, which will also build, until the hate eclipses the fear. The human's fear for you will not last, and will turn into more hate, especially if you your continued solution is to inflict more fear. You are sowing hatred in humans, and now you are faulting them for what they are doing in response to that." Sienna

"I will leave you to muse on those words," Shade said, "I expect an apology to Blake later." With that, he left Sienna, the door telekinetically closing behind him, leaving the tigress alone in a room with air still as hard as steel.

 **(on Anima)**

Yang very quickly decided she didn't like the bandits. Even aside from the fact that the whole camp stank and most of the guys (and some girls) were leering at her, the area carried a feel like no one here cared about anyone else. It wasn't a place Yang wanted to say any longer than she had to.

Eventually, she came up to a particular large tent, flanked by a young woman with short brown hair, and icy blue eyes. The tent flaps then parted, as a tall woman dressed in red, with wild black hair, wearing a Grimm mask emerged. Yang knew exactly who that was.

"Raven," she greeted. There was a chuckling, as the women removed the mask, revealing a woman with the same face as Yang, albeit aged, and with red eyes.

"Yang," she said, "You finally found me."

"I did," Yang said, "And it only took ten damn years."

"You were patient, determined, and above all, strong enough to do it," Raven said, "My compliments. As your mother…"

"No." The bandits were rather surprised when that single word got their leader to shut like a trap.

"What?" Raven asked steely, her crimson eyes narrowing.

"You gave birth to me, Raven, but you aren't my mother," Yang said, stepping forward, "My mother's name was Summer Rose, and she lost her life in the line of duty, protecting others. You're here, raiding people for what little they have, because you think it's right as the stronger woman." Raven let her daugh… no, that didn't sound right now, she let Yang finish, before she took a breath.

"So the little dragon finally has some teeth," Raven said slowly, more impressed than anything else, "Summer would be proud." She hoped her slightly tightening fist at the mention of her former team leader wasn't too noticeable.

"You have no idea, lady," Yang sneered, her eyes turning into red slits briefly, something that didn't go unnoticed by Raven, "And don't you make talk about my mom like that."

"So what is you want then?" Raven asked, "Answers?"

"I want a portal?"

"A portal?"

"That's what I said," Yang said, "Dad told me how your Semblance works. You can mark certain people, and then make a portal to where that person at any time."

"Tai," Raven muttered under her breath, not pleased to know he revealed such a thing to someone else.

"So, just make a portal to Qrow," Yang said, "That's all I want."

"Really? That's it?" Raven said, "No answers to any questions. No reason why I left?"

"Nope, none of that crap," Yang answered, folding her arms.

"Because if you don't," Yang said, taking a step forward, "I will burn this whole camp down." At that, the bandits all laughed out loud, save for Raven, who looked at Yang carefully.

"What makes you think you could ever hope to defeat me, let alone the whole camp?" she asked.

"Because I'm stronger than anyone else here," Yang said bluntly. While the bandits continued to laugh, Raven remained still. She could tell Yang wasn't bluffing, she truly did think herself stronger than the tribe, stronger than Raven.

"Well then, I don't think we have anything left to talk about it," she said, before turning, waving her hand dismissively, signaling to the others to take her away.

"I'm not leaving without that portal," Yang declared, taking another step forward, only to get grabbed by another

"Yang?" she asked.

"Weiss?"

"Okay then," Weiss said, "I was going to do this quietly, but…" She then closed her eyes, as her body vanished in a white glow, and with that, her cage exploded. The bandits stared in shock, as Yang grinned, as a great white dragon spread a pair of great wings over the camp. The leader could only balk at the sight before; she knew magic, but this kind of magic was far greater than anything she had every seen or felt.

"By the gods," Raven muttered.

"Not a bad way of putting it," Yang said, "And I just didn't want to be the first to do it." With that, she vanished in a white glow, as there was a burst of energy that sent the bandits around her flying. When the light faded, it showed a yellow, serpentine dragon floating in the air, with a right arm that appeared to be made of shimmering, golden metal. To their credit, the bandits didn't try and assault the dragons, which may have saved their lives as the white one approached the yellow one.

" **Long time no see,"** the yellow one said in Yang's voice.

" **What're you doing here?"** Weiss said.

" **I'm here to get the woman who birthed me to take me to Ruby,"** Yang answered.

" **Your mom kidnapped me?!"** Weiss exclaimed in surprise. Upon hearing that, Yang's gaze turned to Raven, as steam leaked out of her mouth. She then stretched her long neck down to Raven's level, sticking her snout in her face.

" **You want to do what I asked now?"** she asked. Raven put her hand on her sword in response.

" **That's not a good idea,"** Weiss said. Raven was silent, at a complete loss for words.

"Come… come in," she finally said, "We've got a lot to talk about." Yang hissed, as she opened her mouth, which glowed.

"You can't hurt me," Raven said, "You need me. Now if you want a portal, you're going to come in and talk with me."

" **She has a point,"** Weiss said to her friend. Yang growled, before she took a breath, exhaling a small gust of fire as she did, which sent a nervous chill down Raven's spine. The girls then reverted to their human forms.

"This is going to suck," Yang grumbled, as she started to head towards the tent.

"Hey Yang," Weiss said, causing Yang to look back at the heiress, who was smiling at her slightly, "It's good to see you again."

"Back at ya, Snowflake," Yang said, as she returned the smile.

 **(in Mistral)**

On Oz's suggestion, Ruby was practicing hand to hand combat with Oscar. Oscar was actually doing pretty well, mostly thanks to Oz's assistance on the matter. Ruby wasn't doing that well on her own, being a weapon specialist first and foremost. It didn't help that since she now figured if she ever did lose Crescent Rose, she could just turn into a dragon, and burn her enemies with her fire breath. Granted, that wasn't satisfactory for Oz, who continued to insist on it.

"So, you can turn into a dragon, huh?" Oscar said, as they were taking a break.

"Yeah, I can," Ruby answered, as she took a sip of water.

"And you get the magic from the God of Darkness?"

"Yep."

"Does it… hurt?" Oscar asked slowly.

"What?" Ruby asked, surprised by the question.

"Does it hurt to change into a dragon like that?" Ruby pursed her lip as she thought about it slightly.

"Well, a little," she finally answered, "But you get used to it, and even then, it's kind of like a good pain, like pulling out a splinter. And I don't mind it, especially when it let's me fly." Oscar smiled at that.

 _No_ Oz said in his mind _I cannot turn you into a dragon._

"I wasn't thinking about that," Oscar said.

 _Yes you were,_ Oz responded _Now if you would please, I need to speak with Ms. Rose._ Oscar's eyes flashed again, allowing Oz to take control.

"Where is the God of Darkness?" Oz pretty much demanded from the girl.

"Uh…," Ruby answered, scratching the side of her face, "I dunno actually. He does this a lot, coming in and out."

"You should exercise caution in his presence," Oz said, narrowing his eyes, "He is dangerous."

"Well, yeah," Ruby said, "I think anyone with power like that would be dangerous."

"That is not what I meant. Yes, he is all-powerful, he's more powerful than any of us could ever comprehend," Oz said, "But be wary in his presence, because that power makes him believe he's all-knowing, and he is not. He has never been all-knowing." As the wizard walked away, Ruby only frowned, not sure what to make of it. That was when there was a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it!" Ruby announced, as she went and opened the door.

"Hello again!"

 **Note: Most of this chapter was devoted to Shade going at Sienna. I told you that I wouldn't be easy on her.**

 **I kind of debated whether or not to have Weiss and Yang turn into dragons at this point; I decided to have it in this chapter, mostly. I also really liked writing that scene of Yang disowning Raven as her mother, which is something that we should've seen in canon in my opinion, because whe wasn't Yang's mother, Summer was. Lastly, bare in mind, while Yang and Weiss are still friends in this continuity, they aren't teammates.**

 **Now, in regards to the poll, Ruby does currently have a decent lead on Weiss, which I did expect some degree. But I now have a challenge to my readers: Lancaster fans, give me a solid reason why Jaune should be with Ruby; White Knight fans (I know you're there), give me a solid reason why Jaune should be with Weiss. I like both girls, and I want both to get the full consideration. For my own, Lancaster is probably my favorite, but White Knight is a very close second.**

 **Be sure to review. Again, thanks to SimplyChristian for giving me that idea for Blake's snark.**

 **I'm sure you've noted I've finally got a custom cover made for the story, drawn by the one and only KegiSpringfield, the go-to person for stuff like this.**


	54. Together Again

_**Together Again**_

Ruby could only stare, as one Pyrrha Nikos stood before, with a smile that could light up the universe.

"I know this is rather sudden," Pyrrha said, "But…" She couldn't finish, as Ruby's arms were suddenly around her waist.

"I missed you Pyrrha," she said.

"Hey Ruby!" Jaune called, as he came into the room, "Who.." That was when he stopped, and saw just who had come through the door.

"How…" This time, he was the one who got hugged.

"I missed you both so much, too," Pyrrha said, tightening her hold on Jaune. Jaune took a moment, but he did eventually return the hug.

" **Welcome back, Ms. Nikos,"** Darkness said as he suddenly materialized in front of the group. Pyrrha smiled broadly to see her teacher appearing before him.

 _Thank you_ she said _You gave me a kick I really needed._

" **All I did was remind you of what you already knew,"** Darkness answered. Pyrrha's smile just broadened at that.

"How'd you get here?" Ruby asked.

"I flew," Pyrrha answered.

"You flew? How'd you do that?"

"With my wings, of course," Pyrrha said, her grin widening, spreading her arms in display. It took Ruby and Jaune a second, but they realized what she was taking about.

"Wait!" Jaune said, "You flew all the way to Mistral as a dragon."

"Indeed I did," Pyrrha answered.

"You spent that long as a dragon?" Ruby asked.

"It actually wasn't as tiring as you'd think. If anything, it was kind of fun, seeing Anima from so high up. I even managed to help some people and kill some Grimm along the way."

"Well, I guess that's good," Ruby said, "I mean when you're a dragon, you don't have to worry about not hav…" Ruby trailed off slightly at that, remembering a certain detail about Pyrrha, as she briefly flushed red in embarrassment, but the champion just laughed it off.

"Well, if it's worth anything, I got a new one," she said, holding up her prosthetic, allowing her teammates to stare at it for a time. Jaune looked surprised and even a bit impressed, but as for Ruby…

"OH MY GODS!" Ruby cried.

" **Yes?"**

"This is so cool!" Ruby said, as she crouched down to study Pyrrha's prosthetic, "Is it really made out of bronze? Are there any weapons built into it? Is there a rocket attached?" Pyrrha just chuckled lightly at that. Gods, she had missed that sort of behavior.

"What's going on here?" Nora asked, as she came out with Ren, "Are we getting robbed or some…" Both of them stopped, however, when they saw Pyrrha.

"Holy gods," she said.

" **Yes, I am still here."**

"Well, well, Pyrrha Nikos, as I live and breath," a young yet somehow familiar voice said. Pyrrha glanced over, to see a young boy, even younger than Ruby, approaching with a smile, in a tone that sounded far older than he was.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but have we met?" she asked.

"That we have, my girl," the boy said, the smile widening.

"It's… a bit of a long story," Nora said.

"I noticed that's been coming up a lot in our lives lately," Pyrrha said.

 **(somewhere else on Anima)**

If someone had told either Yang Xiao Long or Weiss Schnee that they would be exposed to some of the oldest and darkest secrets of the world in the course of slightly less than a year, they'd have been very skeptical. But if they were being honest, what Raven was telling them, didn't seem as shaking considering what else they knew about the world. It was certainly surprising, but it wasn't shaking them as much as much as Raven might've expected. This "Salem" seemed dangerous, but there was no way she was powerful as they knew the God of Darkness to be.

"And Ozpin knows about all of this?" Yang asked.

"Know's about it? He's hiding it all from everyone, a secret this big," Raven grumbled, swirling her tea slightly, "Qrow's a fool for trusting him." Yang and Weiss would've agreed with her, as they thought about Jaune keeping the secret about Darkness from them. But they considered also how big a secret that was; maybe they couldn't fault someone for hiding some especially dark secrets from others.

"Well, it's not about trusting Ozpin," Yang said, "It never has been. We've got another teacher, one I think is even better than him."

"The one who gave you that power, I presume?" Raven inquired.

"None of your business, that's who," Yang said, to both Raven, and even Weiss' surprise.

 _You're not going to tell her?_ she asked.

 _Would_ you _trust her with that kind of information?_ Yang asked.

 _Good point._

"You know most people who want something from someone else don't refuse to talk to them," Raven said, "Doesn't make me feel like helping you."

"Well, we don't feel like telling you," Yang answered, "I suggest making nice with that." Raven glared at Yang and her friend.

"I take it you get that stubbornness from me?" she asked.

"I got it from my mom," Yang answered, though this time Raven knew who she was really referring to. She did remember Summer having an unflinching stubbornness to her at times as well; she pondered if her own biological kid got it too. Though as she thought about Summer, again, a tremor went down her spine, and her hand shook ever so slightly, but not slight enough that Yang wasn't unable to catch it.

"Well, that stubbornness may very easily might get you killed one day," Raven said, "That's what happened to Summer…." The bandit leader barely had a millisecond to avoid a ball of yellow fire that proceeded to burn a hole in the fabric behind her.

"Don't you ever talk about my mother like that!" Yang hissed, steam leaking from her mouth, and her reptilian eyes red. Though she'd never admit it, Raven was deeply intimidated by that; the power, it felt deeply primal, like something from a really old time. Yang's attention was suddenly draw to the sound of a weapon cocking, glancing back to see Raven's second (who they learned was named Vernal) standing right behind Yang, her weapon pointed at her head.

"You really think that's going to do anything against me?" Yang asked. Vernal didn't answer, but her grip tightened.

"Yang," Weiss said sternly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "this isn't helping."

"It's fine, Vernal," Raven said, holding up her hand. The woman glared at the girls, but was't about to second guess her leader, as she backed off. Yang managed to do the same.

"Don't you act like you have any better a track record when it comes to being stubborn, lady," Yang then said, "You walked away the moment you pushed me out." Raven's eyes narrowed at that.

"The difference is, I've seen more than you might think," she said, "Experienced more than what you might think,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven glanced at her tea again, before she set it aside.

"Follow me," she eventually said, as she stood up.

"Why should we?" Yang answered.

"Because it's time you saw just what Ozpin does to his obstensible allies," Raven answered, as she left the room. The girls exchanged looks, before Weiss shrugged briefly. With that, they followed the bandit. But when they got out, they didn't see Raven anywhere.

"Where'd she go?" Weiss asked out loud.

"I can smell her," Yang said, "But that's about it."

"Smell her?" Weiss said, her facing pinching slightly.

"Well, yeah, don't you have a super dragon nose too?" Yang asked. Weiss did, and htough she didn't want think about her enhanced senses, she did have to admit she could smell something in the air.

"You think she could be telling the truth?" she asked, "I mean, we got our magic straight from the source. Could she have really gotten it from Ozpin?" That was when they heard a caw, and there's eyes turned to the sky to see a raven flying past.

"Where'd that raven come from?" Weiss asked as it perched on a tree.

"I've… seen that bird before," Yang said softly, narrowing her eyes. The bird looked at the girls for a time, before it took wing, and flew down in their direction. And before they knew it, in a flash, Raven was in the bird's place. Taking a breath, the bandit glanced at the two, where both staring at her, but it wasn't with shock or potential horror, as most people generally reacted. It was only surprise, and they didn't even look that impressed.

"I know it's not as awe inspiring as being able to become a dragon," Raven said, glaring at the girls, "but you could at least pretend a little."

"We've seen better," Yang eventually said, narrowing her eyes.

"At any rate, this is what Ozpin did to me, and to Qrow," Raven said, looking at her hand, before she drew Omen, and let loose a single slash, creating a swirling red void, "But if you want anything more, I'd suggest asking your uncle yourself."

"So you're letting us go then?" Yang asked.

"It's not like I could stop you," Raven said, as she sheathed her blade, "And I'd rather not have to root though the ashes of my camp. Though I will make this one final offer: stay with me, and we can start over, or…."

"Screw you, Raven." Those words hit Raven like a bag of cement, as she stared at Yang, who said nothing more, just glared right through her. With that, Yang retrieved her mortocycle, and loaded Weiss on the back, as they rolled towards the portal.

"One last warning," Raven said, "You put your faith in Ozpin, you _will_ regret it."

"Maybe," Weiss said, finally speaking, "But it's not Ozpin we're putting our faith in."

"Then who is?" Raven inquired.

"Someone whose been there for us since this whole thing started," was all Yang answered with, and on that note, she rolled her bike into the portal. Neither she nor Weiss spared a second-glance at Raven.

"You did good, Summer," the bandit leader said as she watched the portal closed. Again, at the mention of the silver-eyed woman, she felt her hand shaking slightly.

"Damn it," she muttered, as she moved away from the spot the portal appeared as if it were radioactive. She needed something stronger than tea.

 **(in Mistral)**

Qrow ending having a bad day. Despite Leo's claims he was trying his best, he was still no closer to meeting with the Chancellor. He was _this_ close from just trying to storm the palace himself. Qrow resisted the urge to bang his head on the railing of the balcony he was standing on. That was when he felt the air shift, as he glanced over to see a red void appearing.

"Raven, I'm really not…" That was when someone came out of the portal.

Meanwhile, on the inside of the house, Ruby glanced around the corner at Jaune, who was sitting on the couch, chatting with Pyrrha. Ruby flushed red, as she stared at the young man she now knew for certain she had feelings for. She had no idea what would happen to their friendship if she took this any further, but she was worried that this was going to drive her crazy if she didn't do something.

"Jaune," she called softly, as she stepped around the corner.

"Yeah?" Jaune asked, as he glanced up. Ruby took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_ she thought.

"I just…"

"Hey kid!" Ruby's breath hitched, not happy about the interruption.

"Yes?" she asked her uncle, trying not to grit her teeth, as she looked in his direction, "What…" Her voice stopped dead in her tracks, as she saw who Qrow was accompanying.

Yang wasn't sure what she was going to say to her sister when she met her again. To that end, she could only find it in her to stare at her sister. It wasn't helped that Ruby's silver eyes were staring so hard Yang almost thought she was going to be set on fire.

"Ruby, I…." She was silenced as Ruby practically phased over to her, her arms around her big sister's waist.

"I missed you so much," Ruby said through her tears. Yang could only smile as she returned the hug.

"I missed you too, little sister," Yang said, as she tightened her hold on Ruby. Once she eventually got let go, she noticed Jaune standing there as well, but her gaze was quickly drawn to Pyrrha, who was standing a little further away. The champion took a breath, as she stepped closer to her partner.

"Yang, I…" Pyrrha didn't finish, as she was suddenly embraced by Yang.

"Good to see ya again bronzie," she said, as she tightened her embrace on her partner. Pyrrha slowly returned the hug, though she still looked unsure. Though it didn't matter much, as Ruby promptly slid into the hug as well. Jaune just smiled, wiping a way something in his eye.

"Get over here, Vomit Boy," Yang said, gesturing to Jaune, who had been standing over to the side.

"Really?" Jaune asked, "But…"

"It is impolite to refuse such a request," Shade commented, as he materialized beside him. Suddenly Jaune was telekinetically pushed towards his team, where Yang and Ruby were able to grab him, and bring him into the group hug. Shade just smiled at the sight of his students finally reunited. Weiss, despite herself, found herself tearing up ever so slightly at the sight as well. That was when a very familiar voice spoke up.

"Can't a girl have a moment with her man without some kind of disturbance?" Nora complained as she kicked down the door, glaring, "Seriously, what's…" That was when she saw the former heiress, and her eyes nearly shot out of her head.

"Hey Nora," Weiss said slowly, upon seeing her partner. Nora just stared straight at Weiss for that, her jaw hanging open.

"Now, I know some explanation may be in order…" As was becoming a theme across the day, though, Weiss was silenced as she was body slammed to the ground. Said body belonged to Nora, wrapping her arms around her partner's waist.

"I missed you, Weissicle," she said softly. It took a couple moments for her to process what was really happening, but Weiss slowly wrapped her arms around the ginger haired girl in turn.

"I missed you too, Nora," she said softly. Shade's smile just broadened. Now they were only down one person…

 **Note: Bare in mind, while Ruby may have feelings for Jaune, that doesn't mean Jaune absolutely feels the same way she does. I'm going to seek to give Weiss a fair chance in the game too, so expect some more scenes with her.**

 **I considered having Yang tell Raven about the God of Darkness, but that would've opened a can of worms that would've made the upcoming conflict a lot more complicated.**

 **Most of this chapter was dedicated to Yang and Weiss talking with Raven, and the reunion of RYPJ. I wanted this chapter to be longer, but found that I preferred keeping it to the desired scenes: I considered including a scene with Blake, but that would've shifted the focus of the chapter to her, when I wanted to keep it the way it was. Next chapter will likely be devoted to her.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	55. Council Meeting

_**Council Meeting**_

It had been a slow process, but Ghira had finally managed to arrange for a meeting with the Council of Elders. When she was a child, Blake would often sit next to her father during the meetings. For a time, it was thought she would be chieftain herself when her father stepped down. Not that Blake at all wanted the position, since she found it resoundingly restrictive.

As she helped Sun set up the dining hall for the meeting, Blake looked around. The Council consisted of five representatives, four of which were already present: Alba Cituva, Ivory Indlovu, Bruno Eule, and Orrin Unagi. Alba was a snow leopard Faunus with white hair that almost reminded Blake of Weiss, with a spotted white tail that came form her back wearing a white robe. Ivory was an elephant Faunus with whitish-grey hair, whose trait was a prominent pair of elephant ears (that when she was younger, Blake would often laugh at) wearing a grey robe. Bruno was an owl, with a collection of brown plumage that served as sideburns with a large pair of glasses wearing a brown robe. Orrin was an eel whose trait was that his lower body was a green eel body, which meant he had to be wheeled around in a chair, and was wearing a dark green robe.

Sienna was still up in Ghira's office, with Kali. They had a suspicion that if word got out that the overthrown leader of the White Fang was in the Belladonna household, it may come back to bite them pretty quickly. Not that they didn't trust the Council (presumably), but Slate was coming to, and they sure as Darkness didn't trust him.

"They don't actually seem that old," Sun commented to her as he came over carrying a chair. Blake frowned at him, but found it was kind of hard to argue. Most of the Council wasn't actually that old, all things considered; they were all in their later fifties, sixties, to early seventies at the oldest.

"Old or not, they have a lot sway here in Menagerie," Blake said, "If we can get them to denounce the extremist, it'll go a long way to persuading the people to oppose them."

" **That is assuming they do not all support the extremist themselves,"** Darkness said as he materialized beside Blake **, "You are aware this may be a complete exercise in futility."** Blake pursed her lips at that, as she stood up and went to go get the tea kettle.

 _We've gotta try_ , she said _There's no harm in that, right?_

" **Do you really want an answer?"** Darkness answered. Blake paused.

 _No_ she eventually answered.

"Mhmmm." A shiver went down Blake's spine at that distinctive hum, as she noticed Slate entering the room.

"Ms. Blake," the chamberlain said with a slight bow that had about as much sincerity as a Deathstalker.

"Slate," Blake answered, glaring at him.

"So thankful was able to persuade Council to come for meeting?" Slate said, "Perhaps can finally settle all this madness."

"You got no idea," Blake said. Sensing his friend in danger, Sun approached her.

"Hey, I don't think we've met yet," he said to the vulture.

"Oh yes, have not, take it you are one of Ms. Blake's friends, hmmmm?" Slate said.

"Yeah, what about it?" Sun answered.

"Just that any friend of Ms. Blake is a friend of Slate's," Slate answered as he leaned forward. Both teens took an instinctive step back.

"Leave them be, Slate," a raspy but kind voice called out. Slate and Blake looked over to see a tortoise Faunus with a green shell approaching them, the fifth member of the Council, Darwin Oogway. Unlike the other council members, he really was that old, with skin so wrinkled his looked like crumpled up paper. Blake didn't know how old he was, but he wasn't named for a color, so he must've been pretty dang old; supposedly he had sat on the Council since Menagerie's inception. He wore a bright green robe that Blake wasn't sure how he fit around his shell, and was walking with a wood staff as tall as he was.

"No need to try and press her for favor now," Darwin said.

"Mhmmm," Slate mused, as he moved past her to help his employers.

"Master Darwin," Blake said, as she put her fist into her palm, and bowed slightly. When she noticed Sun not doing the same, she elbowed him slightly, and he did so.

"Blake, my child," Darwin said, as he took her hand, "To see you again warms my old heart. When I heard you aligned yourself with Adam…"

"It… seemed like the right thing at the time," Blake said slowly.

"However the situation may seem," Darwin said, as he took Blake's hand in both of his, "I can assure you, what he is doing, is never the right thing." Blake just averted her eyes, as Darwin smiled at her.

"You are here now, and that is all that matters," he said, before he limped away to join his fellow council members.

"Geez," Sun said, "That guy looks like he could keel over at anytime." On that, Blake really couldn't fault him.

"He's probably the oldest person in the room." After Blake said that, she noticed Darkness looking at her.

 _Okay_ she relented, _**second**_ _oldest._ Now that the Council was all assembled, they could hold the meeting. As they all took their seats, Ghira took his seat at the head of the table.

"Thank you all for coming, I summoned you all here on the matter of the White Fang," Ghira said.

"What of them?" Orrin asked, as he sipped his tea.

"Indeed, my granddaughter is with them," Ivory commented, "Is there something wrong?" Blake, who was sitting with Sun away from the table, tensed visibly at that. They still didn't know.

"For that, I'll let my daughter explain, she was in Vale." Blake was rather surprised when Ghira gestured for her to come over. But when Sun gently pushed her forward, Blake found herself with little choice. She then took her position in front of the table, before describing it all to the Council. After she was done telling them, the council exchanged looks of shock and disbelief.

"Chieftain," Alba said, "Is this true?"

"I trust my daughter completely on this matter," Ghira answered. The Council briefly muttered amongst themselves at this.

"Well…," Orrin spoke up, his tail flicking, "This may very change things."

"Perhaps we should speak with the Albain brothers first," Ivory said.

"You can't be seriously we turn on those who took a stand for Faunus!" Bruno said, his feathers ruffling.

"So you would have us do nothing in response to this?" Alba said.

"Perhaps this was just a rogue branch?"

"You can't dismiss this sort of information like that!"

"You can't be suggesting we bluster head over tail into something like this!"

"Your inaction could lead to disaster!"

Blake just sighed, as she shook her head. She supposed to some degree she should've expected this, but she didn't think they'd be _this_ divided. But then everyone's attention was seized by the sound of Darwin's staff slamming into the floor.

"Enough," he said, softly but authoritatively, speaking for the first time, "This sort of arguing will accomplish nothing. Let us consider the facts right now, why don't we? We know the White Fang under the leadership of Adam Taurus attacked Beacon, and released Grimm, yes?"

"That's what happened,"Blake confirmed, "And I can assure you that it's not a rogue faction." She didn't note that Sienna had been betrayed by Adam; at least not with Slate in the room.

"Well, if that's the case, then we should take action," Darwin continued, "Regardless of who the victims and perpetrators are, such a thing is a horrible act, and needs to be addressed. Is there any objection?" The Council members were silent for a time, as they exchanged looks. But the same couldn't be said for their chamberlain.

"If I may, perhaps need examine other side," Slate said, stepping forward, "Mean no disrespect, but Ms. Blake not exactly fully objective source." That notion made Blake's blood boil, as her eyes turned to slits.

" **Calm yourself,"** Darkness said sternly.

"Are you suggesting my daughter's unreliable?" Ghira asked, glaring at the vulture.

"Oh no! No!" Slate said, shrinking back slightly, "Merely suggesting to have more information before taking potentially drastic measures."

"I'm in agreement with Slate," Ivory said, "This is a major issue that deserves complete and total consideration."

"I recommend we launch our own investigation into the matter," Orrin said, "At least before we do anything else."

"I second that notion," Bruno said.

"And I third it," Alba said. Darwin remained silent, as he tapped a finger on his staff, unable to affect any change when he was outvoted like this.

"Then it's decided," Ivory said, "We will initiate a personal investigation into the proper course of action to deal with the White Fang." Blake clenched her teeth at that. So that was all this meeting amount? Just the Council launching its own private investigation into the matter? Blake would've been disappointed if she wasn't so angry at the time. For his own, Ghira just sighed, as he hung his head.

"So be it then," he said, "Thank you for your time."

 **(a little later, outside the house)**

As the Council members departed the Belladonna household, Slate watched from the side, before he turned his back towards the shadows. He then pulled out his Scroll, and made a call, which didn't take long to be answered.

" _Is it done?"_ Adam asked.

"Yes, but not the way you wanted," Slate answered, "Launching their own investigation." Adam scowled at that.

" _Old fools,"_ he said _, "Well no matter, we can deal with that without any real issue."_

"Is it time?" Slate asked in anticipation, leaning forward.

" _Soon, but not yet,"_ the bull answered _, "But I want you to be ready nonetheless. Corsac and Fennec will be making their move within a couple days at the most, and when they do, you will have to act quickly."_

"Of course, will get done" Slate answered, "And your side of bargain?" At that, Adam rolled his eyes.

" _Yes, yes,"_ Adam answered, clearly not interested it _, "You will have what you want."_

"Mhmmm," Slate whimpered, "Always pleasure doing business with you." With that, he slipped his Scroll into his pocket, and went to follow his "masters".

 **(somewhere else in Menagerie)**

" _The Council has not made a final decision on the matter,"_ Adam told the Albain brothers, with Ilia standing a little further back _, "But we can't wait for them to do anything."_

"Of course, Sir," Corsac said, "We will take the appropriate steps."

" _See that you do. It's time we got what we deserved."_ With that the image cut out.

"That boy really loves his own voice," Bai Suzhen said, as she seemed to appear out of nowhere, making Ilia jump slightly.

"Ah, Sister Bai," Fennec said, smiling at her.

"I ain't your sister. How many times do I have to tell you that your revolution means crap to me?" the albino said, glaring at the twins, "So are we doing this or not?"

"Just a little longer, and…."

"No, screw that," Bai said, her tail lashing slightly, "I'm tired of waiting on your schedule." She then turned on her heels.

"You'll know when the deed is done," she said, as she left the room. As she did, she past Ilia, and glanced down on her, glaring at her a little. Ilia shirked slightly under those cold, red eyes, before the snake left.

"Should we…," Ilia began, looking to her superiors.

"No need," Fennec said, "She's bluffing, she can't accomplish her goal without our aid." Ilia hoped that was the case, but something about Bai mad her doubt the snake was in such a position.

"Irregardless," Corsac said, as he turned back to their shrine, "We will have it all soon. Tell us, Sister Ilia, what will you do when it's all done."

"Huh?" Ilia asked, surprised by the question.

"Well after we've conquered the kingdoms, what will you do?" Ilia opened then closed her mouth.

"Maybe just…. find a quiet place to settle down, find a nice girl, raise a couple kids," she eventually said.

"Well, once the humans are under our boots," Corsac said, "you'll have a lot more free time to raise those children." The image of that didn't give Ilia the satisfaction she thought it would. She just looked down, turning a lovely shade of purple.

 **(in the house)**

"So that's it?" Sun asked, "We just let it go?" He and Blake were in Blake's room (more accurately, Sun had followed Blake into her room, and she wasn't in the mood to try and kick him out), which consisted mostly of her bed, some chairs, her desk, and a bunch of bookshelves. One of said bookshelves was behind doors Blake had locked for…. reasons.

"There's nothing else we can do," Blake answered, as she s "We can't force the Council to do anything."

"Then what do we do?" The cat sighed at that.

"I wish I knew," she answered, looking up at the sky, "I guess we can't do anything until we've got hard proof that the White Fang is a danger."

"I might be able to help with that." The cat and the monkey glanced to the side to see Sienna limping in.

"Sienna, can you please not…," Blake said, looking away from her aunt.

"Please Blake," Sienna said, holding up her hand, "Just hear me out." Blake still looked reluctant, until Sun put a hand on her shoulder.

"It wouldn't hurt to just do that," he said. Blake clenched her teeth, before she took a breath and nodded.

"There's… something you need to know, something about about Adam," Sienna said.

 **(in Mistral)**

RYPJ and RWN were all enjoying a long overdue dinner with each other, exchanging their stories and jokes, and enduring the occasional pun from Yang. Shade, meanwhile, leaned on the wall, watching his students. He had decided that they earned this rest after all they had been through.

"You should've seen Jaune!" Ruby said, "He nearly ripped that Grimm's head off!"

"It wasn't _that_ much,"Jaune said, "Ren was the one who actually took off its head."

"Only because the rest of you were holding it down," Ren said with his own smile.

"I would've rather been there," Weiss said, "I had to endure all my father's ridiculous 'parties'."

"Oh yeah, and all those stuck up jerks?" Ruby asked, "I wish I could've been there to show them up myself."

"No need for that," Weiss said with a somewhat smug smile, "I ended up doing it myself."

"Really?" Nora said, "My partner, the Ice Queen, losing it a party?" Weiss just smiled, as there was a hiss, as Nora suddenly found herself face to snout with Weiss' dragon construct. She let out a yelp as she flailed backward spitting a ball of fire into the air as she did. Weiss chuckled as she let the construct fade.

"We need to do a dragon race!" Ruby declared, "I bet I can beat you all!"

"No way!" Nora said, as she pulled herself back up, "Ren could beat you all no problem!"

"Did you just want to say my name again?" Ren said.

"Well, considering how Pyrrha flew the whole way here as a dragon, and I navigated through the floating islands while fighting Grimm," Weiss said with her smug grin, "I think you'd all be rather hard pressed to challenge us."

"Forget all that for now, first, I demand satisfaction!" Yang suddenly said, as she slammed her prosthetic elbow on the table, "You and me Pyrrha! Metal vs metal now!"

"So what would that be?" Pyrrha asked, "An arm-leg wrestle? You sure you want one of my feet on the table?"

"Certainly not," Weiss said. Granted she was quickly drowned out by Nora and Ruby calling for it.

"I'm sure you keep it clean," Ruby added. With that, Pyrrha held up her foot, and put on the table, before Yang put her hand against Pyrrha's knee. With that, the two started their wrestle, both trying to push the other one down.

"You're out of your league, Bronzie!" Yang taunted. Pyrrha was far too polite to have a counter taunt, so she just narrowed her eyes and smiled at her in concentration.

"Come on, Sis!" Ruby said, "Rep Patch for us!"

"Kick her ass, Pyrrha!" Nora said. Since neither of the girls were on her team, she just decided to root for Pyrrha because Ruby was rooting for Yang. The two struggled for a time, until, at long last, the leg beat the arm, and with a grunt, Yang was shoved to the table.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Nora declared, pumping her fist.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said, hoping her partner was okay.

"I wanna rematch!" Yang demanded, not at all satisfied with just one round.

As the group laughed and enjoyed each other's company, Shade smiled slightly, chuckling at their antics, before shifting back into his divine form, and transported himself into the sky over Mistral. After crossing legs, and folding his hands, Darkness willed his mind back into the past. For a time, he remained there, searching for the answers he had long sought. But then he froze, as his mind settled on one moment, so long ago.

" **I found it!"** he declared out loud. At long last, he had finally found the origin of the Faunus!

 **Note: And to the surprise of no one, Slate's a bad guy. Don't worry, he's not a bad guy by virtue of being a vulture, he's a bad guy by virtue of being based on an evil character who happens to be vulture-like. And I know the wise old tortoise is a cliche, but it happens to be a cliche I actually kind of like.**

 **Yang and Pyrrha's arm-leg wrestle was too amusing an image in my head to pass up. It also seems that Darkness has found the origin the Faunus; I considered having him ask Jinn, but that may have ate up another one of her two questions, and since she was created by the God of Light, Darkness wouldn't have been able to force her to do anything.**

 **In terms of the poll, Ruby's in the lead, but Weiss is keeping good pace with her. I'm going to try and give some more White Knight potential as things go on, just to give Weiss a fair shot.**

 **Be sure to review. Thanks for helping me finally break 500 in terms of reviews.**


	56. An Adventure in the Market

**_An Adventure in the Market_**

Qrow had generally gotten used to the hangovers at this point. At times, they started to blend together, and stopped hurting some. Of course, that didn't meant that when his scroll started ringing, the sound felt like a Goliath stomping on his head.

"The hell is it?" he groaned, rubbing his throbbing head as he answered.

"Qrow!" Leo said, "Good news! I managed to convince Bartley to meet with you." Aurelius Bartley was the Chancellor of Mistral, the one Qrow had been trying so hard to meet with.

"When?" Qrow said, as he sat up straight, immediately thinking about it.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?"

"Because it was the best I could get, that's why," Leo answered, "You know how it was to arrange that much." Despite himself, Qrow was disappointed; still couldn't happen today. He then huffed slightly, figuring it was better than nothing.

"Just get it done with," he said, as he hung up. Great, and now he was awake.

 **(outside the house)**

Yang let out a cry as she punched forward, only for Shade to easily duck out of the way. Pyrrha quickly came up next with a kick, but the doctor docked that as well. Yang quickly came up and gave several quick punches when Shade easily blocked. Pyrrha then leapt at her teacher, only for her leg to get caught, and for her to get thrown away. Yang gave another punch, but Shade easily got it, and flicked his finger in her direction. Yang was suddnely made to lose her footing, causing her to fall on her ass.

"Why'd we agree to this?" Yang grumbled, as she rubbed it.

"Because I suggested it, and you agreed," Shade said.

"It's not like we can really so 'no' to a god," Yang said.

"You do remember choice was my gift to you, yes?" Shade said, arching an eyebrow. Yang started to get up, only for Pyrrha to come and help her up.

"Uh, thanks," Yang said.

"Yes, of course," Pyrrha said. There was a period of silence between the two, an awkward one.

"Doctor...," Pyrrha said, only to notice Shade was gone.

"I really hate it when he does that," Yang said. The silence returned between the partners.

"So, the arm is looking good," Pyrrha said eventually.

"Yeah," Yang said, flexing her arm, "Your leg too." Again, back to square one between the two, Yang and Pyrrha just stood in silence with each other, until something came to Pyrrha's mind.

"Yang," she said, softly, "I just wanted to say…."

"It's nothing," Yang said, as she rolled her shoulder, and turned to walk away. Pyrrha held up her hand to call her, but backed off, as she lowered her hand and stared at the ground.

 **(downtown)**

With Yang and Pyrrha training, Ruby was hoping to be able to spend some more one on one time with Jaune. Unfortunately, he said he wanted to get some practice done today, and with Ren and Nora having their own quality time, and Weiss being…. Weiss, Ruby decided to go into town on her own. She would've gone flying, but wasn't in the mood, so instead, she just strolled down the streets of Mistral, occasionally.

"You seem to like weapons." The sound of the voice made Ruby yelp slightly, as she turned to see a girl about her age with light green hair in a dark green dress. She had a jade necklace, and her hair was tied into a bun.

"Hi!" the girl said, waving, "Sorry to scare you, my name's Lina."

"Uh, hi, my name's Ruby," Ruby said, flushing red with embarrassment.

"Nice to meet you," Lina said with a smile, as she looked around, "From the way you're looking around, I take it you're not from Mistral."

"No," Ruby admitted, rubbing the back of her head, "I'm actually from Patch."

"Patch?" Lina asked, cocking her head.

"An island in Vale territory," Ruby admitted.

"Oh? You're Valan?" Lina said, "Haven't met a lot of people from the Republic. I never get places like that, I mean isn't it so much harder there? Always having to choose different rulers and councilors? It's so much easier in Mistral, with all the…." She stopped as she seemed to notice Ruby staring at her.

"Sorry," Lina said, looking at her feet, "I'm… not used to talking like this."

"It's okay," Ruby said, with her own smile, "I've been there too." Lina returned the smile, before she glanced over Ruby's shoulder, and her eyes widened.

"Oh no," she muttered. Ruby followed her gaze, and saw a group of people in red worming their way through the crowd. There were five of them, all Faunus. Their heads were all shaved, and four out of them had scales, while the remaining one had bright red feathers. All of them were wearing red armor in varying styles, but it all made them look no less imposing. The one in the middle had brown scales, and was wearing the heaviest armor, including a big strip of metal around his jaws; there was one with green scales, with what looked like a metal fin on her back. The third had leathery scales between his arms and torso (like some lizards Ruby saw in a documentary once), and his helmet had a large crest atop it. There was a fourth one with leathery, red and yellow scales around his neck. The last one with red feathers atop her head, and was wearing the lightest armor, but on her feet were a series of of imposing blades like talons.

"There she is!" the one with brown scales, who seemed to be the leader, said. The five all started moving in their direction.

"You've gotta get me outta here!" Lina said, grabbing Ruby's shoulder, "They want to kidnap me!"

"Uh…"

"I said they're going to kidnap me!" Lina said, now shaking Ruby slightly, "So get me outta here!"

"Uh… this way!" Ruby said, pointing. She then lead her new friend down the street, hoping to lose them in the crowd. Unfortunately said crowd seemed to part for the five easier than walking through water.

"Someone stop them!" the woman with the fin said, pointing. However in the confusion, Ruby grabbed Lina's hand.

"Hold on!" she said. Before Lina could say anything, Ruby activated her Semblance, carrying Lina as they zipped away.

"Spirits, damn it!" the lead said, with a glare, "Not again."

"Girl's persistent, gotta give her that," the Faunus with feathers said, "Maybe we should let her have this."

"None of that, Carmine," the leader said, before turning to his team, "Come on, we've got a job to do.

 **(at the house)**

Weiss thrust out with Myrtenaster, before spinning around, and letting out another thrust. She then thrust the rapier into the ground, summoning up her construct. The dragon spread its wings, and Weiss grinned.

"Wow." The sound broke Weiss' concentration, causing the dragon to fade away. Weiss was annoyed, yes, but didn't say anything as she saw it was Jaune carrying two water bottles.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. Weiss took a breath.

"It's fine," she eventually said, "What is it?"

"Oh, I just thought you could use some water," Jaune said, offering Weiss one of the bottles, which she took.

"Thank you," she said politely. As she was sipping, she took a look at the blonde, who was drinking from his own. Weiss had to admit, he looked better than he did at Beacon; much less scrawny, and even looking a tad taller.

"Nora's been telling me that you proved yourself quite capable in the journey here," she said.

"Well," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head, "Nora, Ruby, and Ren were doing most of the actual fighting. I'm just the strategy guy."

"Don't understate the importance of that," Weiss said, looking at him, "Some of the greatest leaders in Remnant's history were just 'strategy guys', as you so eloquently put it."

"Thanks," Jaune said, "Still not nearly as good as any of you, though." Weiss frowned at that, not entirely pleased to hear Jaune putting himself down like that. She'd heard enough put downs from her father to have a friend of her's start doing it to himself.

"Come," she said, gesturing, "Let's practice." Jaune seemed surprised by the suggestion, but figured he knew Weiss long enough to know better than second guess her, so he took out Crocea Mars, and took a battle stance. Weiss was moderately impressed by his stance.

"Look's a lot better, than it did before," she said, as she took her own.

"Darkness helped me a lot with it," he said. With that, Weiss thrust at him, which he managed to block with his shield. He then let out a slash, which Weiss evaded.

"I suppose it helps to have a god as your tutor," she said as she swung at him, which he managed to block.

"No kidding," Jaune said, as he parried a strike from Myrtenaster, "I don't know what I'd do without him." They continued dueling for a time, parrying slowly one after the other.

"I notice you aren't using your Semblance," Weiss noted.

"I… still haven't unlocked my Semblance," Jaune admitted. Weiss frowned at that slightly, before sighing.

"It's not all that bad, honestly," she said, "I only just recently started being able to create my constructs. And Nora told me you were the one who actually figured out how we could be able to transform." Jane nodded slightly at that, but didn't say anything more.

"You know, let's do this again sometime," Weiss said, "I could always use the practice too."

"Uh, sure," Jaune said, somewhat surprised to here her say that, "I do appreciate the help." Weiss only nodded at him, though as she left, she let herself smile.

 **(downtown)**

"That was awesome!" Lina said, "You mean you can do that anytime?" She and Ruby had zipped further downtown, and were now hiding in an alley.

"Well, if I have an Aura left, yeah," Ruby answered, as she panted, "Do you have a Semblance?"

"Yeah," Lina answered, but didn't look to enthusiastic about it, "It's a hereditary Semblance, but I'm no good at it."

"Hereditary?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, it runs in my family," Lina added. Ruby was surprised to hear that; she knew Weiss' was hereditary, but she didn't think anyone else's was.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Lina said, before grabbing Ruby's hand, "Let's go!"

"Go where?"

"Anywhere!" Lina declared, as she pulled Ruby away into the market.

For what felt like a couple hours, they wandered aimlessly, as Lina insisted on stopping at every single one, and trying every article of food there was. Ruby had to wonder if this is what it felt like to hang out with herself.

"So, how are you liking Mistral?" Lina eventually asked. She and Ruby were sitting on a bench in a park, both with a cake of what was called "mochi", a local desert in Mistral, which Ruby had never tried.

"I guess it's pretty nice," Ruby said, as she took a bite of her cake, "It's a lot different from Vale."

"I wouldn't know, I guess, I've never been outside of the capital," Lina said, as she took a bite of her own, which she looked at strangely, "I've never had mochi like this."

"Do you not like it?" Ruby asked.

"No, no!" Lina said, "It's great! It's the best mochi I've ever had! It's just…" Her face pinched slightly, as she stared at it.

"Different," she finally said. Ruby looked at her for a time, as she took a bite of her own cake. It was certainly different, at least different from anything Ruby had ever eaten. But she thought it tasted good; she'd try it again if she got the chance. That was when she sensed something…

"There they are!" She looked up to see the five Faunus in red coming at them.

"We got to go!" Ruby said, grabbing Lina's hand to take her away. But somehow, she didn't seem as enthused this time, as she was dragged after Ruby. They ran back into the crowd, though she then noticed the feathered Faunus, and the one with the crested helmet running across the rooftops, and in her moment of distraction, the woman with the fin on her back dropped in front of her. She then held up her hands, which were covered gauntlets which massive blades came out of.

"Aw crap," Ruby said, as she drew Crescent Rose, and took a fighting stance; the remaining five surrounded her and Lina. She was outnumbered, as the five all drew their own weapons.

"Don't hurt her!" Lina said, holding per hands, "She was just trying to help me!"

"Lina, don't…" Then, to Ruby's shock, all five fell to one knee before Lina.

"Your Majesty," the lead one, the one with the metal jaw, said as he kept his head bowed, "We must insist that you return with us to the palace."

"Huh? Palace? Your Majesty?" Ruby said, somewhat dumbfounded by what she was hearing, before asking, "Wait, so you're not crazy kidnappers?" All five people looked at Ruby in surprise.

"What?" the lead one said, "I'm Rowan Hammond, Captain of the Mistrali Imperial Guard."

"Wha…," Ruby said. She then looked to Lina, who was staring at the ground, before she looked towards Ruby.

"My name's Lin Hanzhi," she said, "33rd Empress of the Empire of Mistral." Ruby could only stare, gaping as the people around them slowly knelt before their Empress. After a moment, Ruby curtseyed slightly, doing the only thing she thought right. Lin just looked at her sadly, before she followed her guard. Watching from the rooftop of a nearby building, was a cloaked figure with a metal faceplate, his gaze completely focused on Lin.

"Target identified," Talos muttered to himself

 **Note: Some of you may have seen that "twist" at the end coming, and I'd understand why. It is kind of a done concept.**

 **I wanted to give Weiss a real scene with Jaune. I'll definitely be doing more, if only to give her a fair shot as well.**

 **I'm going to say this here because it probably won't come up in the story. All the Imperial Guard are themed off dinosaurs, but since dinosaurs likely didn't exist in this world, I decided to cheat it a little by making them normal Faunus, but with non-Faunus traits that make them resemble dinosaurs. They're all also themed after** _ **Jurassic Park**_ **(the book, not the movie).**

 **\- Rowan Hammond: a T-Rex**

 **\- Cherry Malcolm: a Spinosaurus**

 **\- Cornell Sattler: a Pteranodon**

 **\- Roy Nedry: a Dilophosaurus**

 **\- Carmine Grant: a Velociraptor**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Side note: I'm considering rethinking Jaune's dragon design. I've never been wholly happy with his current one; while I prefer the "being dragons" over the "beast dragons" (i.e. dragons that are intelligent vs animals), looking at the description of Jaune, it didn't seem to have that bestial majesty that the others did. I've been browsing some designs, and there are a few I'm partial to.**


	57. Spite

_**Spite**_

Raven glared at her reflection, as she polished off Omen. She had hoped that once Yang and her friend left, she'd be able to clear her thoughts, but she was wrong. There were too many unanswered questions, most significantly, where they got that magic from. That power felt strange, primal, and above all, alien; she compared that to the magic she got from Ozpin, which while unnatural had at least an earthly feeling to it.

"Raven," Vernal said as she came in, causing Raven to glance up.

"Hmm?" she answered, barely sparing Vernal said glance.

"Salem's found us." Those words made Raven freeze, before she took a deep breath.

"Very well," she said, "It's not like we didn't prepare this. My helmet." Once she got her helmet, she left her tent to see who Salem had sent against her. She found it was five individuals, three men, and two women; three out of the five looked young, around Yang's age, maybe a little older.

Looking at them, Raven could already tell this was probably not going to be a pleasant experience.

 **(on Menagerie)**

Even though the Council of Elders had decided to launch their own investigation, everyone knew that was probably going to take longer than they had time for. That was when Sienna told Blake just what Adam was planning: to do to Haven, what he did to Beacon. "Screw them" had been among the words she used; were she Yang, the words would've been much more "colorful".

Unfortunately half a day, and nearly half of Kuo Kuana later, neither she nor Sun had anything to show for their efforts. Shade, meanwhile, had accompanied them; Blake was briefly worried he'd try and coerce people, but he assured her he wouldn't.

"Choice is one thing I will never force," he had said. Blake and Sun were now taking a break in a cafe in the aquatic district. Blake was staring into her drink, lost in thought, until Sun spoke up.

"I just don't get it," he said, "

"What they're talking, what _Adam's_ talking," Blake said, "It appeals to a lot of people who lost their homes or loved ones due to the humans. They feel the Faunus are owed a pound of flesh."

"I just don't understand how people can be like that," Sun said, "How people can be so…. angry all the time." Blake was silent for a time, as she took a breath, and stared at the sky.

"Do you really think Adam would do this?" Sun then said, "This seems…" He trailed off, not sure about the appropriate word.

"I don't think there's a word really to describe," Blake said, apparently reading his mind, "He's…" This time, it as her turn to trail off slightly, as she chewed on the inside of her cheek."

"Have you ever met a person, and think this person is the embodiment of 'insert word'?" she asked.

"Huh?" Blake couldn't help but snicker at that slightly.

"Well think of my team," she said, "Ren's 'reserved', Nora's 'enthusiasm', and Weiss I've come to realize is 'defiance'. Or I guess for the other's, I suppose Ruby would be 'purity', Yang would be 'strength', Pyrrha would be 'kindness', and Jaune would be 'loyalty'."

"Well, what does that make me?" Sun asked with a mischievous smile. Blake couldn't help but laugh slightly at that.

"I think the jury's still out on that, 'earnest' comes to mind" she answered, before it faded, "I used to think Adam was 'justice', then I thought was 'passion', and now I realize he's 'spite'. Plain and simple, 'spite'. Some humans hurt him, now he believes _all_ humans must suffer for it." Sun was quiet for a time, before he glanced over to see Shade, who was strolling through the stands, the people parting to him like he was radioactive.

"So, what would Shade be?" Sun asked, jerking his head, "I'd say 'long-winded'." The cat pursed her lips, as she looked at her teacher; many words came to mind, but eventually, she settled on one.

"The word I'd use is 'experience'," Blake finally answered.

"Experience?" Sun asked, "Him? He really doesn't seem that old."

"Trust me, it fits," Blake said, "There's a lot you don't know about him. Stuff I imagine you wouldn't want to know."

"Try me," Sun said, leaning forward, now curious.

"Let's just say, he's been around for a while," Blake said, "And he's seen a lot more than we could."

"You really trust him, don't you?" Sun said.

"Implicitly," Blake answered, as she smiled at her teacher. Shade glanced at her, but kept otherwise silent.

 **(in Mistral)**

As the sun started to dip, it was time for Qrow's meeting with the Chancellor, and while he wanted to meet him alone, Aurelius apparently insisted on the Empress coming as well. So Qrow was now standing in the Haven courtyard alongside Leo, along with RYPJ and RWN, as a contingent of Mistrali soldiers came towards them. Strangely Shade was absent, not that any of his students blamed him for not wanting any part of this. Between them were a palanquin framed by the members of the Imperial Guard. Ruby gulped slightly at the sight.

"What is it?" Jaune asked his partner.

"It's nothing," Ruby lied.

"Uh, this is so stupid," Nora griped.

"Show some respect," Weiss hissed, "We're meeting an Empress here. Do you know how old the Imperial Dynasty of Mistral is?"

"I dunno, like, really old?" Nora asked. Weiss rolled her eyes at that.

"This Empress is the 33rd Empress of Mistral," Ren answered.

"Thank you, Ren," Weiss said. Nora just stuck her tongue out. They watched as the palanquin got set down. Four of the five Imperial Guard fell to their knees in front of it, as the last one, Rowan, offer his hand, as a hand reached out of the curtain.

That was when Ruby saw her; Lin looked different, like an Empress. She was dressed formally, wearing ornate yellow robes lined with jade; her hair was tied into a bun, with a jade comb pinned into her hair. On the back of the robe was the Mistrali symbol. She slowly descended down the stairs of the palanquin, her arms folded her sleeves. Lin glanced at Ruby, who waved slightly, but the Empress just looked away.

"Your Majesty," Leo said, bowing slightly. Pyrrha also bowed. Not far behind Lin was an older man with golden hair, dressed in brown robes also lined with gold. He had a small staff with a jade on its head.

"Hey Aurelius!" Qrow called.

"Mr Branwen," Aurelius said, narrowing his eyes, as he came up beside Lin, "Your Majesty, this is Qrow Branwen, he was a colleague of your grandfather."

"Good afternoon, Sir Branwen," Lin said, offering her hand to Qrow, though he didn't do nothing.

"This is Rowan Hammond, Captain of the Imperial Guard," Aurelius said, gesturing.

"Pleased to meet you," Rowan said, offering a hand.

"Likewise," Qrow said, "Now are we going to keep talking out here in front of all the soldiers, or in some official capacity? You know time is money."

"Better than you," Aurelius said, "Your Majesty." Lin just nodded, as she took the nominal lead down the path towards the headmaster's office.

"Lin!" Ruby wasn't entirely sure why she could out to the Empress, but it was done, and everyone was left staring at Ruby, who was as red as her cape.

"Go on ahead, Chancellor," Lin said.

"Your Majesty," Aurelius said, as he went ahead with Qrow and Leo. Lin moved to go to Ruby, as her guard gathered around her.

"It's okay," she said, holding up her hand. The Guard took a step back, but not much more than that, as Lin came up to Ruby, who stepped forward. The girl began to curtsey, but Lin waved her hand for her not to.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ruby asked. The Empress looked at the ground for a while.

"Because I didn't want you looking at me the way you're looking at me now," Lin then said.

"But you're an Empress, and I'm just a normal girl from a normal island," Ruby said, "If I knew…"

"You wouldn't have eaten mochi with me," Lin interrupted, before she turned to follow her Chancellor. Ruby wanted to call out to her more, but changed her mind, and stood back to look at the ground. As the group started to disperse, Ruby noticed all of her friends staring at her.

"You knew the Empress?" Pyrrha all but demanded.

"It's a long story."

Unbeknownst to anyone, some distance away, lying across his stomach on a rooftop, was Talos. His enhanced vision was focused solely on one young empress. He then pointed, as if he were making a finger gun. Energy began traveling down his arm, as a tiny slot in his finger opened, and began to glow.

"Target terminated." That was when he saw another person there, a young woman in bronze with long red hair. Almost immediately, the energy from Talos dissipated, as all his attention got put on Pyrrha.

"Her…," he said. Suddenly his concentration evaporated, as his emotions began to swirl, and his whole body started to shake. Unable to aim properly, Talos boosted himself to his feet. He then looked at his hand, it was still shaking. Knowing he had to get away, Talos hurried into the shadows.

 **(on Menagerie)**

"Come on!" Blake said, "We have to hit the nocturnal district! I know some bat Faunus who've never liked the White Fang."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Sun said, as he hurried down the steps to follow her. As she continued walking, Blake felt her Scroll buzz.

 _Something's going to happen. Something bad. We need to meet. NOW._ Blake narrowed her eyes.

"On second thought," she said, "You go ahead of me. There's something I have to knock out first." Sun seemed to surprise, but just shrugged, as he left to ahead of her. Shade then approached Blake, looking at her scroll.

"Do you trust her?" he asked. Blake was silent for a time, as she stared at the message, knowing who it was from.

"No," was all she eventually answered with.

"Then I believe you should be leading the way," Shade said, gesturing.

"Actually," Blake said, "I thought it'd be better if I went alone." At that, Shade stared at her for a time, as his eyebrow arched.

"Is that so?" he said.

"I think this is something I need to do myself," she said.

"If that is your choice," Shade eventually said, "Then so be it." Blake nodded and smiled as Shade watched her disappear. He would respect her choice, as was his obligation, but there were always loopholes…

 **Note: This chapter initially went through couple of versions before I reached one I was satisfied with. It was initially longer, but as I was drafting it, it became too busy; too much was happening at once in too many different places. I got what I set out to accomplish, namely to set up Qrow's discussion with the chancellor, and things happening in Menagerie.**

 **I initially wrote Cinder's discussion with Raven, but it wasn't adding much to canon. I debated whether or not what Raven saw with Yang and Weiss would affect her decision; but for a woman always more fed up with simple survival, I think she'd be more concerned with the dark one she already knows about, than strange power she's never seen before.**

 **Be sure to review. Didn't get much last time, I could use a little love.**


	58. Dragon Race

_**Dragon Race**_

"Qrow, I've told you, it's not a matter of desire, it's a matter of capability," Leo said.

"And I've told you, we need to do this!" Qrow answered. The two of them, along with Aurelius and Lin, were meeting in Haven's assembly room. Lin sat at the head of the table as the Empress, with Aurelius sitting at her right, and Leo at her left. Qrow sat next to Leo, while the Imperial Guard surrounded the table.

"Qrow," Aurelius said, "You said yourself that the Relic needs protecting. We need the remaining huntsmen here."

"That doesn't mean anything if Salem gets her hands on the key," Qrow said.

"I don't know what you want us to do," Aurelius said, sitting back and holding up his hand, "Our hands are tied." Qrow growled, as he hung his head. He then glanced at Lin who had spent the whole meeting silent, her eyes on her hands.

"Well, they aren't _your_ huntsmen," he said, before looking at Lin, "Hey, Empress!" That got the young monarch to look up from her hands.

"You would address Her Majesty in such a way?" Rowan said, stepping forward.

"Oh cram it lockjaw," Qrow said, not having the patience to deal with a guy like him. Rowan growled, as he took another step forward, and the rest of the guard did the same. Lin just held up her hand for them to stop. She was looking at Qrow, and actually smiling slightly.

"Yes, Sir Qrow?" she asked.

"Can you send a battalion of huntsmen to deal with this?" he asked. Lin was silent for a time, as she apparently considered it.

"Your Majesty," Leo said, "If we send out our remaining huntsmen, we won't have any more defense in Mistral." Lin looked down at the hands folded in her lap.

"That is true," she said softly.

"And it's bullcrap!" Qrow snapped.

"Watch your tongue, cretin!" Rowan shouted in his own right, snapping his jaw.

"Qrow, please," Leo said, grabbing Qrow's arm, only for him yanked it away.

"It doesn't matter how well defended the city is if Salem can get to the Spring Maiden first!" Qrow said, "Now I know where Raven is, and we can either sit on our hands and do nothing, or we can take the initiative!" Those words sat in the air for a time, as did the tensions.

"Your Majesty, perhaps a break would do everyone some good," Aurelius said, leaning down to the girl.

"Yes," Lin said, happy to get away form this, if only briefly, nodding, "Let's break for an hour or two."

 **(in the house)**

While Qrow and Aurelius were busy shouting at each other, Weiss had taken it upon herself to help Jaune practice some again. Jaune came down to the practice area outside, only to see Weiss standing there without her weapon, her arms folded.

"There you are," she said, as she saw him, "Let's go."

"But… where's your sword?" Jane asked.

"First off, it's a rapier, not a sword," Weiss corrected, holding up a finger, "Second, I was thinking we'd do something different. Ruby's comment at that dinner about racing as dragons got me thinking." Jaune then opened then closed his mouth.

"Seriously?" he asked. She seemed like the last person who'd be interested in something like that.

"I want to stretch my wings a little," Weiss said, "Besides, it's good for us to get some real fresh air." She then promptly turned on her heel, and strolled away. Jaune sighed before following him. Why was she so hard to argue with?

It was a bit of a walk, but they eventually made it to the outskirts of the city. Once they got there, they both assumed their dragon forms.

 _Ah!_ Weiss said, opening her wings _That feels so much better._

 _So, where're we going?_ Jaune asked, flexing his own.

 _Well, you've been in Mistral a longer than me, so what's your suggestion?_

 _Well, perhaps to reach that mountain_ Jaune suggested, pointing to one of the mountains. Weiss would've shrugged, but couldn't as a dragon, so she just nodded. Jaune then looked towards the city, and his tongue flicked.

 _You sure this…_ Jaune couldn't finish, as Weiss beat her wings, and was suddenly in the air. Jaune just sighed, and smiled slightly, before following Weiss into the air. He tried to catch up, but between Weiss' bigger wings and lighter frame, she was able to keep ahead at him.. The two soared for a time through the mountains and cliffs, giving a good scare to a family that worked a farm on the outskirts of the city. Of course, that didn't mean Jaune was going to give up; Arcs didn't do that. With a hiss, he flapped his wings harder, which allowed him to gain some on Weiss.

The white dragon glanced over her shoulder at the gold dragon, and smiled slightly. He was much better at flying than when she last saw him, and he was slowly gaining on her. But Weiss was never one to settle for second place. She then opened her wings wide, as a pair of glyphs appeared under her wings. With a single beat, she doubled her distance with Jaune.

 _That's not fair!_ Jaune shouted, before he groaned, and tried to flap harder, with little success. Eventually, he reached the mountain, and found Weiss perching on the cliff, smiling at him.

 _Fine, you win!_ Jaune relented, as he landed.

 _Then I officially retain bragging rights over your team_ Weiss declared, as she lay down, wrapping her long tail around her body. Jaune sighed, as he stretched his neck.

 _You know Ruby's not going to accept that,_ he said as he settled down. As he did, Weiss looked him over; his dragon form looked different too, more powerful. Jaune noticed her looking at him.

 _What?_ he asked.

 _Oh! Nothing_ Weiss answered, as she looked away quickly.

 **(back at the house)**

After the meeting started, Ruby would pass the time by working on Crescent Rose. As she picked at the gears, she chewed on her lip; her baby was being a tad more stubborn to open up, and if even the tiniest gear squeaked a little, it deserved the utmost attention.

"Ruby?" The reaper looked up, to see a familiar girl in gold and jade appearing in the door, backed by five Faunus in armor. Ruby immediately stood up straight.

"Your Majes…"

"Don't!" Lin suddenly said, holding up her hand, "You can still call me Lina." Ruby looked at her somewhat strange.

"Or Lin, that's fine too," Lin then added, before taking a step forward, "So, watcha you doing?"

"Oh, uh… just working on my scythe," Ruby answered, gesturing to her weapon.

"Oooh," Lin said, stepping closer, "This is cool." While she knew better than to touch, she bent down close.

"What's it's name?"

"Crescent Rose," Ruby said, running her hand down the hilt, as she did, her brow furrowed, "I'm… I'm sorry about how I acted the other day."

"It's okay," Lin said, looking at the ground.

"I was actually just surprised," Ruby admitted, "I'm… sorry if I sounded rude."

"No really, it's okay, I'm used to it," Lin answered, as she looked at her hands, before sighing, "It's actually worse since I became Empress. When I was a princess, at least people saw me as a person. Now, since I became Empress, it's like I'm not even human anymore, more some unearthly demigod. People always avoid me, like if they get to close they'll spontaneously combust." She smiled at the guards.

"At least you guys stay close," she said.

"Of course, Ma'am," Roy said, with a nod.

"So they follow you everywhere?" Ruby asked, glancing at the guard.

"They do," Lin said, "They've been with me since I was a little kid." They glanced at the guard, who were all standing in a circle in the room, at parade rest, facing straight ahead.

"Can they even talk?" Ruby asked, leaning in slightly.

"We can," Cornell, the one with the crest, said, though he didn't look at Ruby. Lin then sighed.

"I sometimes feel kind of bad," she said, "Faunus still aren't treated very well here in Mistral, and they still guard my every move. I want to make change, but…"

"It is of no issue, Your Majesty," Rowan said, "We are all still honored to serve you, right?" There were affirmations around the room. That was when Rowan's scroll buzzed, and had to answer it.

"Well, I wish we could hangout again," Lin then said, "Maybe get some more mochi…."

"Well, why don't we?" Ruby asked.

"What?"

"You're the Empress, you make the decisions," Ruby said, "If you want to get some mochi, who's stopping you?" Lin blinked at that, before she seemed to think.

"Well, now that you mention it…"

"Your Majesty, I apologize, the Chancellor is requesting your presence back in the meeting room," Rowan suddenly said, as he hung up his scroll. Lin took a breath, as she smiled at Ruby.

"Wish me luck," she said.

"Good luck, Your…," Ruby stopped, "Lin." That made Lin's smile broaden, as she left.

 **(in the mountains)**

During all of this, Jaune and Weiss were sitting on the cliff, enjoying the sunset, still as dragons. As they were doing so, a thought came to Weiss' mind.

 _Jaune._

 _Yeah?_

 _Where are you from?_ Jaune looked at Weiss in surprise, who was now looking at him. That was a weird question to ask, which Weiss seemed to realize, as her tail flicked.

 _Well, I'm from Atlas, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha are all from Mistral,Yang and Ruby are from Vale, and Blake once told me she was from Menagerie,_ Weiss explained _, But I don't think I ever figured out where you were from._

 _Oh? Well, I'm from Vale too, actually_ , Jaune answered _A small town, not far from the capital actually, called Reflection._ He then looked towards the sun.

 _It was on the ocean, and the sunsets were always the best_ , he said _It's what I miss the most about it, actually._ Weiss looked at him for a time, then back at the sunset.

 _Most of the time, you can barely see the sunset in Atlas,_ Weiss said _, The smoke from the mines and refineries blots it out half the time._ Jaune looked at Weiss this time, as he took a breath, exhaling some flames as he did so, not at all sure what to say.

 _It's okay,_ Weiss said _There's nothing really to add there._

 _Well,_ Jaune said, looking back to the sunset _At least these sunsets are really pretty to look at._

 _That they are, Jaune, that they are._

 **(in the meeting room)**

"We're going in circles," Leo said, leaning into his hand, "It just can't happen."

"I'm sick of hearing that," Qrow said.

"And frankly, I'm getting sick of telling you!" Leo countered.

"Qrow, at this point, you're asking for the impossible," Aurelius said.

"I swear…," Qrow began.

"Enough." It was as if someone had pressed "mute", as all eyes were suddenly straight on Lin.

"Chancellor, please arrange for a team of huntsmen to begin a search the Branwen Tribe," the Empress then said.

"I'm sorry Professor Lionhearted, but I am exercising my authority as the Empress of Mistral," Lin said, "See to it that it happens." Aurelius stared at the young monarch for a while, until he bowed at the waist.

"Your will, Your Majesty," he then said, before he gestured to Rowan, "Contact Creme, and tell her to assemble her team."

"Yes, Lord Chancellor."

"Damn," Qrow muttered as he stared at the 33rd Empress. He'd seen that tone from someone before: the previous Emperor.

 **(at the house)**

Oz had been the only person who decided not to attend the thing at the Academy with the Empress or Chancellor, and Oscar didn't oppose it, saying that he wouldn't have been able to contribute much at this point.

"So, was the last Emperor your friend?" Oscar asked, as he practiced with the cane.

" _Not exactly the word I'd use, but he was an ally, yes"_ Oz answered _, "Part of the reason he would always encourage the new settlements. He thought that if they could build faster than Salem could burn, we would be able gain an edge on her. But alas, destruction is always easier than creation._

"How true." Oscar froze as he heard the voice. He looked over his shoulder to see Shade walking towards him, arms folded behind his back.

"Uh…," Oscar said, not sure how to address him, that was when Oz took over, "What is it?"

"I am merely curious as to your progress," Shade said, "It has been a long time since I lost saw you. I am surprised you are not at the assembly."

"There were more people in that room than just Qrow and Leonardo," Oz said, leaning on his cane, "I imagine you'd know better than most about what experience can teach."

"Perhaps," Shade answered, as he summoned a chair to sit in, "That woman always has had a rather…. far reaching grip." At that, Oz involuntarily flinched, and it was then that he decided to ask the question he had been mulling for some time now.

"Oscar, the _god_ and I need to have a private conversation," Oz interrupted, "I'm sorry, but I have to do this."

" _Ozpin, what're you…."_ With that, Oscar was silenced, as Oz locked him away. He would be fine, it would be as if he were asleep.

"How long are you going to hide what happened to them?" That made Shade looked straight at Oz.

"Come again?" Shade said, his eyebrow raised at the wizard's tone.

"What you did…," Oz said, taking a step forward, "And now you're walking amongst them like nothing happened?" Shade was silent, before he stood up, and shifted into his divine form.

" **The reasons why** I **do what** I **do have never been the concern of anyone but myself,"** Darkness said, as he towered over Oz **, "You will not concern yourself over such a thing."**

"The well being of those children is very much my concern," Oz countered.

" **And I have been very diligent in that regard."**

"You've never cared about mortals."

" **Again, none of this is your concern."** Oz stared at Darkness for a time, before he took his breath.

"You can't interfere," he said, "That much I know, but you can't hide what happened forever. It will come out sooner or later." With that, he walked past Darkness, who didn't glance after him.

" **Anastasia survived."** It was like a million volts of electricity suddenly coursed through Oz's body, as his eyes widened, and he shakily turned around.

"Wha…." But the god had already vanished, leaving Oz alone and absolutely at a loss.

 **Note: Some more scenes for Jaune and Weiss doing some bonding, albeit as dragons instead of humans. Again, I want to give her a fair shot as well in this proverbial battle. Some have suggested I do what's so eloquently called "War of the Roses", which apparently refers to Jaune being paired with Ruby** _ **and**_ **Weiss. First off, I'm rather surprised there's actually a term for that (those I suppose I shouldn't be), but the issue is that that kind of pairing in a story is very hard to pull off well. I'm not sure if I have the ability (or really the desire) to do so.**

 **Otherwise, most of this chapter was dedicated to Lin. They're going to take action, but what comes of it remains to be seen.**

 **Be sure to review. Please?**

 **I'm going to say now, I've officially redesigned Jaune's look; he's now based on the dragon Vilentretenmerth from the Netflix** _ **Witcher**_ **series, albeit with four legs and two wings, a white gold frill around his head, and being somewhat larger. I thought that look, while more bestial, was also more imposing than his initial design. I went back to the chapter where they first transformed and edited it as well.**

 **Completely unimportant, but I hereby petition to dub the Penny x Weiss ship, "Dancing Clown". Think about it a little…**


	59. In the Shadows

_**In the Shadows**_

Blake's peered through night, keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of the chameleon. Unfortunately, that was hard enough for a normal person, and when it came to Ilia…

"Blake." Speak of the devil. Blake glanced up as Ilia approached form the shadows, hands up, drawing as the cat drew weapon.

"Why did you call me out here?" Blake demanded. Ilia stared at the ground for a time, as her teeth clenched.

"I'm sorry." That confused the cat for a time, before she heard a sound in the darkness, and knew what that meant.

"Are you?" was all she said, before Blake was suddenly tackled by three different people, including a bat and a spider. She recognized them from the White Fang as Yuma and Trifa. Blake was knocked to the ground, dropping Gambol Shroud in the process; before she could recover, she was caught in Trifa's web, trapping her.

"Not bad, Sister Ilia," Yuma said, tossing Ilia Lighting Lash.

"Ilia!" Blake snapped, "What're you doing? This won't get you anywhere! This won't get anyone anywhere!"

"That's where you're wrong," Ilia answered.

"My father won't stand for this! Neither will the Council of Elders." Ilia sucked in her breath, a she briefly turned a light blue, before she exhaled slightly.

"The Council won't be an issue after tonight," she finally said. A chill ran down Blake's spine upon hearing that.

"Ilia…," she said, "You're not…"

"I'm doing what has to be done!" Ilia snapped, as she turned bright red, "There are two kinds of humans: those who hate us, and those who stand by and let them hurt us. You know what stops them? Hurting them back, that's what. I don't like doing it…" She turned away slightly.

"I really don't," she said, as tears started to pool in her eyes, "I don't like the fact that there are children out there who don't have their parents because of me. But it's gotten us results."

"Indeed," Blake said, narrowing his eyes, "And then what?"

"What?"

"And then what?" Blake repeated, "Where does this all stop for you? When the all the humans are our slaves, or when they're all dead? Will you be satisfied then?" Ilia's teeth clenched, her grip on her weapon tightened, and she started to shake ever so slightly.

"I won't let that happen," she said, "When it's done, I'll find human children who've lost their parents. I'll raise them, protect them, teach them a better way…" Blake could see it in her eyes, Ilia was just trying to convince herself. Blake had seen that look before, albeit much closer to home.

"But it doesn't matter in the end," Ilia then said, "What I'm doing is for the good of the Faunus!"

"And killing me is for the good of the Faunus?"

"No, you're going to Mistral, to join up with Adam" the chameleon answered, shaking her head slightly, "But as for your family…." Those words hit Blake like a bag of bricks.

"No," she whispered, "No! No! You can't do this! This isn't you!"

"Yes it is!" Ilia snapped, "You just never bothered to really notice! You spent all that time fawning over Adam! I…." That was when she turned a shade pink.

"There was a time I wished you'd look at me the way you did to him," she then said. Blake blinked in surprise, before she looked down. Now that she mentioned it, it was somewhat of a surprise she hadn't noticed it earlier.

"But too bad things aren't always that easy," she said, glaring at Blake, "Yuma, let's go! You two, get her to the docks." As Yuma took the air, and Ilia returned to the shadows, the other two tried to haul Blake to her feet.

"Let's go, traitor!" Trifa ordered, but Blake wasn't paying attention. She had only one thought in her mind: save her family. With that, the magic flowed through her body for the first time in months, as her Aura began to build.

"What the…," Trifa tried to say, before there a burst of black energy, which knocked both the assailants away and through a building or two; as the dust faded, it showed her arms had turned into wings. She opened her eyes, which had turned from felid to reptilian. Using the hands on her wing elbows, she then pulled out her scroll.

"Sun!" she said into it, "Meet me back at my place immediately!" Not bothering to wait for his response, she hung up, opened her wings, and took to the air; sh would've tried and call her parents, but had a suspicion that it was too late. Darkness watched as she did; if he had a mouth, he would've been smiling at her.

 **(in the chambers of the Council of Elders)**

Slate paced through the halls of the Council, as he waited; waited for confirmation that it was done. It had been ten minutes since he met the girl, and she hadn't come back. He was now standing outside the door to the Council's inner chamber. He had to be careful to avoid stepping in the blood of the guards who framed the doors.

Finally, he heard a knock, and entered the room, which was a large round area with a fire pit in the center surrounded by chairs and sofas, and was greeted by quite the sight. Four out of five of the Elders were lying sprawled on the floor, beside their pooling blood. And yet, no signs of a struggle, like the assassin had just walked in and cut them all down without issue. Sitting on the arm of one of the chairs, spinning one of her hair pins through her fingers was Bai Suzhen, with her dress somehow completely devoid of blood.

"Mhmm. My, my," Slate said as he overlooked her handiwork, "You truly are effective."

"I told them, they'd never see me coming," Bai said, "One got away, though. The old tortoise."

"No matter, was a crippled old fool, no threat to us. Will inform Corsac and Fennec of your actions," Slate said, "They will be quite pleased."

"So what do you plan on doing when this is all done?" Bai inquired, as she stuck her pin back in her hair, and rose to her feet, "You plan on making yourself the Chieftain?"

"Chieftain?" Slate answered, "Oh no, no, will continue service for Lord Taurus. Let him choose new chieftain himself. Am only interested in well being of Faunus. Lord Taurus is…"

"Stow it," Bai interrupted.

"Mhmm?"

"First off, I couldn't care less about the Faunus; they made it clear they couldn't care less about me. Second, I've been around enough people like you to see through this charade. So I'll ask again, what now?" For a moment, Slate was silent, before he straightened up slightly, as his smile turned much colder.

"Only ever interested in power, never in ruling," he said, "Power does not come from ruling, comes from favor with those who rule. People like those in the White Fang short-sighted, blinded by hate, makes easy to predict, easy to manipulate. Will let him become a king if he wants, while I continue to serve him. That is true way to true power." Bai arched her eyebrow as her tail swished as she stood up.

"You know you may be wasted on a madman like him," she said, "What if I told you there was a woman who could get far broader use out of your talents than hardheads like Taurus."

"Grateful, yes, but must decline," Slate answered, "Am right where need to be."

"Suit yourself," Bai said, as she walked past Slate, "Now, if you don't mind, that was only part one." Slate watched her pass, before he walked over and pulled Orrin off his seat.

"Hmmm, could get used to this," Slate mused as he settled into the chair, and pulled out his Scroll. It didn't take long for Fennec's face to appear on it.

"It's done," Slate declared.

" _Very good,"_ the fox said _, "It is a shame it had come to this. You will receive new instructions soon."_

"Ready and eager," the vulture answered, with a smile, "Always glad to serve cause."

 **(on the outskirts of Mistral)**

"I'm surprised she actually made an effort regarding this," Cornell said, as he rolled his shoulders, stretching his membrane, "I was starting to think the Chancellor had her completely under control."

"I'm not," Roy said, as he leaned on a tree, "Sooner or later kids rebel."

"Just wish it could've been another day," Cherry said, "I hate working this late." Four out of the five Imperial Guard were standing in the forests not far from Mistral. Surrounding them were the bodies of the four huntsmen Lin had requested, and everyone one of them was dead.

"The brat should've listened to Lionheart," Cherry said, as he made sure one of his victims was actually dead, "Could've saved us a bunch of trouble."

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy this," Cornell said, as she leaned back on a nearby rock

"Yeah," Cherry admitting, with a sigh, "I did."

"It's done," Carmine said, as she stood off to the side, speaking into her Scroll.

" _Very good,"_ Watts said _, "A shame that it came to this. I really believed that Leonardo would be able to keep the girl under control."_

"The brat's starting to grow a spine," Carmine said with a scowl as she and the others came around the raptor.

"Typical humans," Roy said, rolling his eyes, "Brief spurts of bravery spliced into intervals of consistent cowardice."

" _Oh please,"_ Watts said, rolling his eyes _, "It's always the same with you Faunus."_

"Well maybe if you humans would take the damn hint….," Carmine said.

" _Irregardless, you will have what you want,"_ Watts said _, "But there is another matter, it concerns the Empress."_

"The brat?" Cornell asked, "You said you were arranging her death? She's still alive."

" _A failure that is being dealt with, be assured,"_ Watts answered _, "So, if I may, would you be willing to do it yourselves?"_ The group exchanged glances.

"You have no idea how long we've been waiting for an offer like that," Carmine said, her lips curving into a smile. Watts then nodded, as he cut the link.

"What about Rowan?" Cherry asked.

"Rowan is a Faunus first, and a guardsman second," Cornell answered, "He will stand with us in the time."

"And if he doesn't?"

"He will," Cornell said, "He'll have to."

 **Note: How many horrible acts have been committed throughout history with the justification that it's for the good of one group?**

 **So the Guard are bad guys, or at least 4 out of 5 of them are. I'll go more into that in the retrospective.**

 **Aside from that scene at the ned, this was mostly devoted to things building in Menagerie. I'm anticipating the next couple chapters being Blake-centric, though there may be some scenes of other characters sprinkled in for the sake of expanding things. Bai seems to be a pretty dangerous individual, and I imagine things will only get worse from here.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	60. Of Foxes, Chameleons, and Dragons

_**Of Foxes, Chameleons, and Dragons**_

Yang and Pyrrha were sparring again, though this time it was with their weapons. Yang punched out, which Pyrhra blocked with her shield; Pyrrha quickly countered swing up Milo, which Yang leaned back from. She punched up, making it Pyrrha's turn to dodge. Yang then punched and Pyrrha kicked, causing their prosthetics to lock, metal arm to metal leg. The two locked eyes, green to lilac. As they were doing so, however, Pyrrha broke away, and moved back. That allowed Yang to press the attack, as she let out several punch, that, while all blocked by Pyrrha, still forced Pyrrha on the defensive.

"Come on Red," Yang said, as she stretched, "You're tougher than that!" Pyrrha didn't say anything, as she pulled herself to her feet, rubbing her leg.

"Come on, let's…."

"Yang," Pyrrha said suddenly, making the blonde stop talking.

"What?"

"I'm… I'm sorry." Yang blinked at that. Now Pyrrha of course apologized almost all the time over one thing or another, but this time seemed to different some how. Unlike previous times, where her tone would be more embarrassed than anything else, this time, she sounded genuinely guilty.

"Sorry for what?" Yang asked, shrugging lightly.

"I should've been there for you," Pyrrha said, looking down while shaking her head, "Your my partner, I should've been on the ground having your back, while instead I was…" She trailed off, as she covered her face with one hand, dragging it down. _That_ surprised Yang. Was Pyrrha seriously blaming herself for what happened to her at Beacon?

"Hey," Yang said, putting her hand on her partner's shoulder, "It's okay." Pyrrha looked at Yang for a time.

"No it's not," she said, before she walked away. Yang opened her mouth, but closed it, as she watched her partner leave again. She then looked at her prosthetic, as she clenched and unclenched her fingers.

 **(in the Belladonna household)**

As one might have expected, the White Fang had caught the Belladonna household unawares. They had stormed the house without warning, and now Kali was left to hide behind a table which was serving as a makeshift barrier. Beside her was one of the Menagerie lawmen who guarded the chieftain's house. As Kali hid, one of the guards peaked over the table to sneak a few rounds.

"Ma'am, please stay…" The guard couldn't finish as a bullet struck him in the shoulder, incapacitating them. Not one to keep hiding, Kali promptly picked up the gun he dropped, and started firing back.

"Get out of my house!" Kali shouted as she fired. One of White Fang's rifles turned into sword, and he charged at the table. That was when the soldier found a bladed whip wrapped around around his wrist. He only had time to look up as Sienna kicked him square in the jaw. The tigress then flipped back to get behind the same table as Kali.

"Sienna?" Kali said, "What're you doing here? You aren't well enough yet!"

"You kidding?" Sienna said, "You think I'm going to let my big sister keep doing all the work?" Kali looked to protest, before sighing.

"I miss the old days when I'd read you to sleep," she said, with a solemn smile, "Things were simpler back then." That was when Sienna put her hand over her sister's.

"Me too, Big Sis," she said. With that, Sienna vaulted over the table, decking another White Fang soldier.

"High Leader Khan?" another said, only to get Cerebrus Whip around her neck, and thrown into one of her comrades.

"Not anymore," Sienna said, as much to herself as the others. That was when Yuma dropped in from the ceiling, using his wings to slow his fall. Sienna glared at him as he did.

"You bastard," she growled.

"You always were something of a…." The bat couldn't finish, as a boot to the back knocked him the ground. He glanced behind him as one Darwin Oogway flipped through the air, and landed, holding his staff in a battle pose.

"What the?" both Yuma and Sienna said at the sight.

"Not bad for an old tortoise, I'd say?" Darwin said, with a toothless grin, "Now come now? You afraid of an old man or something?"

"How'd you escape the assassin?" Yuma demanded. That seriously shocked both Sienna and Kali; the Council of Elders had been assassinated?

"Let's just say, I managed to see her coming," Darwin said. Yuma then jumped at Darwin, who easily evaded. He then knocked Yuma in the knee with his staff, causing him to fell to one knee, allowing Darwin to knock Yuma over the head.

"How are you doing this?" Yuma said, baffled how someone as old as Darwin could be so good at fighting, "You're just an old geezer!"

"Old is just another way of saying 'experienced," Darwin said, waving his staff at the bat. With an angry growl, Yuma jumped back at his elder opponent. However, his wrist got caught by Sienna, who grabbed his other arm, kneed him int the stomach, before throwing him over her shoulder and into a bookshelf.

"Letting one of the Elders do the job?" Sienna said, "You kidding?" Darwin smiled at her, before doubling over, holding his shell.

"Oh, my back!," he said, before giving a rather embarrassed smile, "Okay, maybe I am getting too old for this."

 **(in the entry hall)**

Meanwhile, Ghira was having his own battle, albeit without the gunfire, with Corsac and Fennec. The Albain brothers described themselves as people who shared the spoils of their battles. But when it came to the honor of killing the chieftain, they alone wanted those bragging rights.

Ghira ducked as a fireball from Inferno, carried by Fennec, came at him, though Corsac took that as an opportunity launch at him. Ghira avoided a strike, before punching at the young man, who easily evaded the strike and jumped back. Fennec then took his turn to jump at the chieftain, getting a boost from Cyclone, carried by Corsac. Ghira held up his arms, as Fennec kicked at him, blocking the attack, and throwing the fox off.

"I believe it's time for a regime chance, brother," Corsac commented as Fennec recovered next to him.

"I'm afraid so, brother," Fennec answered, as the brothers pointed their weapons. Ghira just narrowed his eyes, as his claws unsheathed, and he growled, before the panther launched himself at the foxes. The two managed to avoid the strike, but Fennec was unfortunate enough to be the closer of the two, as Ghira literally pounced at him. Fennec again managed to avoid the strike, and launched another fireball at him; this one struck the Faunus, though Ghira's Aura managed to reflect the worst of it.

As he was stunned, Corsac pressed his own attack, jumping onto Ghira's back, and stabbing Cyclone into it. Ghira let out a pained grunt, but fortunately it was just a flesh wound, and he managed to throw Corsac to the ground, before bringing his claws down. Corsac just managed to avoid the attack as the claws caught this hood, ripping it away. Corsac then activated cyclone, sending a gust of wind that knocked Ghira away.

As he was distracted, Fennec took careful aim with Inferno, but he couldn't move fast enough, as he got knocked upside the head by Sun Wukong as he burst through the window.

"Brother!" Corsac called, as he leapt to his feet, and charged at Sun. However, his leg was suddenly ensnared by one end of Gambol Shroud, and Blake let out a grunt, as she pulled him to the ground, giving her time to get to her father.

"You're hurt!" Blake said, upon seeing the wound on his shoulder.

"Nothing I can't handle," Ghira answered, as Sun took a place between the two of them.

"Where's Mom?" Blake asked.

"I don't know, I was alone when they ambushed me."

"Go now!" Sun said, as he readied Ryui Bang and Jingu bang, "I've been wanting to bring down these creeps since the moment I saw them!"

"For my own, I am somewhat interested now to see if this boy's worth all you've been claiming," Ghira commented. Blake wasn't pleased boat the possibility of leaving her father and friend to fend for themselves against these guys, but figured her options were otherwise somewhat limited. She just nodded, and ran out of the room.

"I've got your back, Mr. B!" Sun said.

"Oh shut up," Ghira answered.

 **(back in the dining room)**

During all of this, Bai Suzhen calmly stepped through the window into the house. She hopped down, clasping her hands behind her, as she sauntered forward. As she was doing so, Kali was still firing from behind the collapsed table, and Sienna and Darwin were fighting off the thugs that had broken in.

"So uncivilized," Bai said, rolling her eyes. That was when she noticed Darwin, whose attention was still wholly on the thugs around him. She wasn't sure how, but the tortoise had seen her coming. One of the few people who got away from her, but Bai wasn't going to let that happen more than once.

"So that's where you went," she said. She considered slitting his throat then and there, but that wasn't why she was she was here. She then continued strolling down the hall, calmly humming to herself. All the while, no one in the room so much as glanced at her; it was as if the white snake wasn't even there….

 **(in the meeting hall)**

Blake hurried though the hall, a she entered into her house's meeting hall. However, as she did, she sensed a presence, and stopped. Frowning to herself, she took a breath.

"Are you actually surprised to see me" she asked.

"No, I had a feeling you'd get away." Blake glanced up to the balcony to see Ilia standing on the railing of the balcony, wearing her Grimm mask.

"Take off that mask," Blake said, "Face me yourself." Ilia wasn't sure why she did so, but she did indeed remove her mask after a moment. She then tossed it over her shoulder. In an instant, the cat and the chameleon launched themselves themselves at each other, and their weapons clashed. The force pushed both of them back. Ilia then lashed her whip out, which Blake was able avoid. She switched her weapon to gun form, and let out a few shots at Ilia, who deflected them with her whip. She then swung her whip again, which Blake managed to dodge. She then jumped up to Ilia's level, and the two exchanged strikes. While Ilia had speed, Blake had agility, and while Ilia may not have wanted to admit it, the actual training Blake had received had made her a better fighter.

Realizing pretty quickly that she wouldn't beat Blake in a straight up fight, Ilia retreated, and swung Lighting Lash out. Unfortunately for her, this time Blake's semblance to kicked in, though was enhanced with Ice Dust, causing Ilia's whip to get stuck in an ice statue of Dust.

"What the…" She didn't get to finish, as Blake was suddenly on top of her, and Ilia had to let go of her weapon. Hopping back to the wall, Ilia glared at Blake, who was panting slightly.

"I can do this all night if I have to," Blake declared, "You aren't hurting my family!" Ilia's glared just hardened, before she glanced at the wall, noting a light switch, which she promptly slammed. Instantly, the room got dark, not pitch black, but enough that that Ilia would've been able to camouflage in it. Blake took a few steps back, as she tighten she hold on her sword.

"Are you really deluding yourself into thinking we can beat the humans in a war?" she asked.

"We did during the Revolution," Ilia's voice answered from the dark, "We can do it again. The mistake of the revolutionaries was they didn't go far enough. They shouldn't have stopped Kuchinashi, they should've gone al the way to Mistral!"

"This will only validate all those humans who hate the Faunus," Blake said, "Not only will you lose, you'll make things worse for the others."

"We have everything the humans have, and we have more!"

"The humans have more then twice our numbers," Blake said, stating what should've been obvious.

"That doesn't matter either!" Ilia shouted, "We're the superior species! The chosen race! Created by the Spirits themselves…"

"The Spirits aren't real!" That silenced Ilia's voice completely.

"They've never been real," Blake continued, partly through gritted teeth, "The only gods in this world are…"

"You're lying!" Right then, Ilia swung in from the dark, knocking Blake away, and into the ice clone, shattering it, thus freeing Lighting Lash. Ilia was quick to retrieve it, and she swung it at Blake, who tried to dodge, only to get struck in the side. She let out a cry of pain at the shock, causing her to fall to her knees. This gave Ilia the chance she needed to come in and kick Blake in the stomach, sending her careening away into the wall. Ilia rubbed her shoulder, as she panted.

"I'm sorry Blake," Ilia said, "I really am. But I have no choice." _That's it!_ Blake thought. That was going to be the last time she heard that from someone. She knew exactly what needed doing.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," Blake answered, as she got to her feet, "I didn't want to do this." She then sheathed Gambol Shroud, much to Ilia's confusion. Blake then folded her arms over her chest, as she channeled the old magic through her body, and her body was consumed with the glow of the Aura. Ilia took a few instinctive steps back at that, at a complete loss as to what was happening. That was when the glow faded, and the chameleon was left to stare at what was before her.

In Blake's place, was a great panther-like dragon, slamming its tail into the ground in intimidation, grinding its claws into the wood. To her credit, Ilia didn't drop her weapon, and her jaw didn't drop, rather use just froze, like she had been hit with Ice Dust, as she stared at the great beast. The dragon growled, as its tail slapped the floor in intimidation.

" **I really didn't want it to come to this Ilia,"** the dragon said in Blake's voice, as she stalked towards Ilia who tried to step back, only to back into the wall **, "I gave you every chance to walk away. Gave you every chance to see why this wrong? But you wouldn't listen."** Ilia instinctively swung Lighting Lash, only for the whip to harmlessly bounce off the dragon's scales. In a flash, Blake sprung forward, and before Ilia even knew what was happening, she was pinned under her claw.

"What… what are you?" she stuttered out.

" **I'm just someone who wants to protect her family,"** Blake answered, as she held up her tail, as the scales on the tip stuck up like quills. Quills that were pointed straight at Ilia. With that, the tail struck down, and Ilia cried out. But the blow never came. The chameleon slowly opened her eyes, as she saw the tail embedded in the ground beside her head.

" **Now tell me,"** Blake said **, "do you want to get out?"**

"Blake….," Ilia said through her tears, "I…"

" **Just tell me, and I can do it for you,"** Blake said.

"It's too late," Ilia said, now truly crying, "I can't go back now." That was when she found herself being nuzzled slightly by Blake.

" **It's not too late yet,"** she said **, "You can stop this."**

"I… I don't know how," Ilia answered. With that, Blake got off of Ilia, and with a glow, returned to her Faunus form.

"Let me show you," she answered, before she ran out of the room, leaving Ilia to just stare after her.

 **(in the entry way)**

Ghira had to admit, Sun wasn't actually half bad. He was certainly rather begrudged to admit such a thing, but it was true.

Sun deflected a strike from Corsac, only to get blown back by Cyclone. He then stuck his weapon back into its staff form, and spun it to deflect the wind. He couldn't deny that Corsac was good, but he sure as heck wasn't going to let a jerk like this get the better o fhim.

Sun then activated his Semblance, sending his three doubles out at once. The sigh to this certainly caught Corsac off guard, and that was really all the monkey needed. He sprung himself at the fox, dealing him a sharp punch in the gut, stunning the fox, after which Sun punched him twice in the face. Corsac was knocked into the wall, as he let out a grunt of pain. He didn't really have time to recover though, as Sun knocked him to the ground with a single strike from his nunchakus, defeated.

"Brother!" Fennec cried out. But much like said brother, he fell to distraction, as he was grabbed by the scruff his neck by Ghira, punched in the stomach, and sent flying into the wall. With that, the Albain brothers were both soundly defeated.

"Now come on!" Ghira said, "We have to help… UH!"

 **(in the dinging hall)**

The thugs were finally starting to give up, as their numbers began to dwindle. As the last of them either retreated or fell, Kali emerged from behind the table.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"As good as a 437 year old tortoise can be," Darwin answered, leaning on his staff. Kali nodded at that, before she turned to Sienna, only for her younger sister to suddenly hug her.

"I'm sorry!" Sienna said, tightening her grip on Kali. Kali was surprised, by was all to happy to return the hug.

"Can you ever forgive me?" Sienna asked.

"You're my sister," Kali answered, "I could never not forgive you."

"Mom!" Blake called as she burst into the room.

"Blake?" Kali said, as Sienna let her go.

"You did good kid," Sienna said with a nod and a smile.

"Thank's Aunt Sienna," Blake answered before noticing Darwin stumbling forward, "Master Darwin? What're you…."

"Not important right now, child," Darwin answered, "I fear there is a threat we may have missed."

"What do you mean?"

"When the assassin came for the Council, for some reason I was the only one could see her," Darwin answered, "It must've been her Semblance or something, but fortunately mine kicked in just in time, and I was able to slip away." Blake figured that could be expected; she knew that Darwin's Semblance gave him some degree of immunity from other people's Semblances. His age must've been taking its toll on it, though.

"So you think…" She couldn't finish, as her question was unfortunately just answered for her.

"Blake!"

"Sun?" Blake asked at the sound of his voice. Blake raced back down the halls, her family and elder not far behind.

Blake burst through the room, and she got there just in time to see Bai yank a metal spear out of her father's gut. Her long white hair was down, and in each hand, she held a long thin spear, one silver, one gold. These were her two weapons Yuànhèn and Ráoshù; normally she kept them collapsed down, as her hairpins, but not now.

As the rest of the people filed in, they could only stare as Ghira collapsed to his knees, holding his injury. Kali let out a scream, Bai just stared at her fallen victim, and Corsac looked up to grin triumphantly at the sight.

"At last," he said, as he rose to his feet, "At last the time…" He was silenced, as he was struck by Lighting Lash, and knocked back unconscious. Ilia emerged from behind the column, panting slightly. Bai then glanced towards the group with her cold eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked plainly, spinning Yuànhèn through her hand. Time seemed to slow down for Blake, as she let out her own scream. But that scream quickly changed into something else, into a roar. There was a burst of energy, and the people around Blake were sent tumbling away. Ilia got down, as she looked on, knowing what was coming next.

Bai's instincts kicked in, as she leapt away just in time to avoid a black dragon leaping at her. However, she wasn't fast enough, as the blades on the wing spines grazed her side. Bai failed to make a proper landing, as she tumbled to the ground. She grabbed at her wounded side, as the dragon turned to face her, black flames leaking from the corner of its jaws.

"What the…," Sun said, speaking the words everyone was thinking. As Kali and Sienna pulled themselves up, they could only stare at the great reptile that was once their daughter/niece.

"In all my years," Darwin said slowly, as he weakly propped himself up with his staff, "I've never seen anything like this." But that wasn't entirely true; true he'd never seen a dragon before, but the power exuding from Blake seemed familiar, like something from his past. Like something from he once saw during the Great War….

Bai, for her own, knew when she was outmatched. At any rate, she knew Salem had to be alerted as to what was happening. She couldn't dwell on her thoughts, as the dragon sprung at her again. This time, Bai was able to move out of the way, and as she did so, she vanished into thin air. The dragon scanned the area growling, its eyes glowing angrily, but there was no sign of the snake anyway. With that, it turned its attention to Ghira. It purred slightly, as it advanced on the panther, who was now sprawled on his back, breathing weakly. The dragon then faded into black mist, which Blake promptly emerged from.

"No! No! No! No!" she said, as she fell to her knees beside her father, as she took off her coat, and used it to try and apply pressure to her father's wound. She looked up for help, only to see her family and friends are staring at her, like she had… just turned into a dragon.

"Blake…," Kali said softly.

"I'll explain everything later!" Blake shouted, "But Dad…" That didn't really satisfy anyone present, but Kali had to remember that this was still her daughter standing beside her husband. She then hurried over, and was followed shortly by Sienna. It took a moment, but Sun managed to get his tail off the ground, and over there as well, followed by Darwin. Ilia was the last, but she still kept an appropriate distance.

"Ghira," Kali said, as tears started to well in her eyes. Ghira could only groan in pain.

"No, please," Blake whimpered, as she started to cry as well. This couldn't be happening, this wasn't supposed to be happening.

"Please," she said, putting her hand on her father's chest as she cried. That was when she sensed a presence. She glanced up to see Dr. Shade slowly approaching the group, his arms behind his back as they always were. Soon, everyone else's attention was on the doctor as well.

"What's he doing here?" Sienna asked.

"Get out!" Kali shouted.

"Yeah!" Sun shouted, "Where were you when this was all going on?" Shade remained silent, as his attention was entirely focused on his student, who looked him in the eye.

"He can save him!" Blake said, causing everyone to look at her.

"Blake…," Sun said, putting a hand on her shoulder, only to have it shaken off.

"I know you can!" the cat declared, as she stood up, "You've done greater things with less effort!" Shade just looked at her in silence.

"Blake, what're you talking about?" Sienna asked. Blake looked around at her family and friends, before she took a sharp breath in, and looked back at Shade.

"Do you want me to pray?" she asked, "Because I'm praying?" For a time, Shade stared at her, before he took a breath, and shook his head.

"Well," he finally said, "I suppose I can bend my rules slightly if it involves answering a prayer."

"Blake, what's going on?" Sun asked, "What can he…." That was when there was a flash of energy, and in the Faunus place stood a four meter tall giant made of purple energy. The room turned dead silent, save for the sound of Darwin's staff and Ilia's whip hitting the floor. Darkness then held his hand up to Ghira, before he just flicked his wrist slightly. In an instant, Ghira's wound closed up, like it wasn't even ever there, he didnt' even have a scar. He then let out a gasp as he sat up, holding his stomach.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Dad!" Blake said, throwing her arms around her father's neck, as her mother did the same.

"Blake, Kali," he said, "How…" That was when he noticed Darkness looming over them, and he instinctively stood up. When he did, he found he was barely half the god's height.

"What the hell…"

"Everyone," Blake said, as she stood up, and held her hand out, "This… is the God of Darkness. One of the creators of Remnant... and humanity." Those words sat in the air like they weighed a thousand pounds. Everyone there knew about the Two Brothers, at least in passing; it was a human religion, and thus something most of them (or at least Ilia and Sienna) never gave any thought to. But now, one of the Brothers was standing right in front of them.

 **"I understand that this may indeed by quite overwhelming,"** Darkness said **," But I do give you all credit, you are not screaming by the revelation."** Blake would've laughed at that, but couldn't find it in herself to do so now.

"But, the Spirits…," Ghira began. His daughter cringed at that; there it was, the hard question. But there could be no hiding it now.

"The Spirits aren't…" Blake couldn't finish, as Darkness held up his hand.

" **No,"** he said **, "The Spirits are indeed real."** Blake's eyes went straight to her teacher, as did everyone else's.

"The Spirits are real?" she asked slowly. The faith of the Faunus wasn't false after all?

" **They are, but they are not beings to be prayed to,"** Darkness continued.

"What do you mean?" Sienna said, rising to her feet, "What's going on here?"

"A question for the ages, indeed," Darwin, as he slowly retrieved his staff. Darkness was silent for a time, before he again sighed.

" **Oh my children,"** he said, shaking his head slightly **, "There is so much you do not yet know."** He then swung his finger out to point to what seemed like nothing, only for a dark vortex to appear in mid air.

" **You will now behold the answer to the question that has plagued you for so long,"** he said.

"You mean...," Blake began.

 **"Yes."** The god then flicked his wrist, as the vortex expanded, to consume everyone present.

 **"Bear witness, to the true history of the Faunus."**

 **Note: That scene in the very beginning between Yang and Pyrrha may have seemed out of place, but I wanted to include it in this chapter, because if I included it elsewhere, it wouldn't have flowed well with the events in Mistral.**

 **Writing this scene was actually not easy. Aside from the addition of other characters, I knew I had to do the scene between Ilia and Blake, and I also knew I wanted to include Blake's dragon form in it. It may not have had the same impact as the canon scene, but I still hope I did it justice. I considered giving Blake some dragon action against Bai, but figured that it wouldn't have been a real fight, and would've just consisted of Blake attacking, Bai dodging, Blake attacking, Bai dodging, you get the idea.**

 **Sorry for those who were looking forward to see the Albain brothers fight. I'll confess, I'm not overly fond of those characters, and their fighting styles/weapons didn't make for entertaining fight scenes in my opinion. Next chapter will likely be mostly flashback, devoted to exploring the history of the Faunus in this continuity.**

 **Bai's weapons are** **Yuànhèn and Ráoshù, which essentially translate as "Grudge" and "Forgiveness".**

 **Be sure to review.**


	61. How the Mighty Have Fallen

**How the Mighty Have fallen**

"Is anyone here?"

"Blake?"

"Kali?"

"Sienna? Ghira"

"Mom? Dad? Sun?"

All the assembled Faunus were now stranded in a black void, at a loss as to what was happening. Even Blake, who had pretty much gotten used to the "antics" of the god, was rather disquieted by this.

"Alright?" Sun said, spreading his arms, "What the hell's going on here?"

" **In the beginning, when this world was still young, my brother and I feuded,"** the voice of Darkness said from seemingly nowhere.

With that, the void changed into what looked like a luscious green forest. But then everyone's attention was seized by flashes of light in the sky. It was a swirling stream of gold and purple light, as if the two were trying to overwhelm each other. The stream slammed into the forest, sending out a shockwave that leveled it in the process. Ilia instinctively held up her arms, even though she wasn't really there.

Blake had seen her teacher in his true form once before, but that didn't make the sight of the colossal dark dragon emerging from the dust with a roar any less imposing. And then from the dust emerged a colossal, golden, Mistrali dragon, the God of Light. He looked like Yang's dragon form, only he had two large feelers coming from his snout, a beard under his chin, a pair of antlers, and was noticeably larger. With a roar, Darkness lunged at Light, who twisted out of the way, before pinning his brother to the ground. Darkness then lunged up, grabbing the God of Light by his throat. They turned into torrents of glowing energy again, and sailed back into the sky.

" **Eventually, the two of us would strike a balance. What he would create, I would destroy, and he would create again, putting an end to our feud. But then my brother shattered that pact, and created beings of pure creation, things to steward his creations."**

A chill ran down the Faunus' spines, as they watched as the God of Light, still in his dragon form, perched atop a rock, holding out his front claw. Four balls of glowing energy, one red, one orange, one silver, and one blue. Light then opened his claw, and the four balls floating into the air, before they coalesced into humanoid ones. The sight of these beings sent a universal shiver down the spine of the Faunus present.

" **My brother and I had no names for them, but you would come to call them 'Spirits'."**

Blake could only stare as she processed the knowledge in front of her: the Spirits really did exist. But that now raised another several questions about the rather drastic implications of this.

" **In the beginning there were only four, one that each embodied an aspect of creation: Knowledge, Memory, Preservation, and the most powerful, Order. These 'High Spirits' had all the powers of creation within them, and though they could never hope to match the power of my brother, they were capable of truly immense feats. And they were only the beginning, as my brother created more beings to further his creation."**

The image changed, as the four balls of multicolored light soared over the land, countless white lights following them. Wherever they flew, greenery followed them. It was like watching a new world being born.

"Beautiful," Kali murmured a she looked over the sight. Most of the rest of the group would agree, save for Blake, who knew there had to be more than what they were seeing.

" **They threatened the balance we had agreed on, threatened to tear it asunder. So I answered accordingly."**

The image changed again, to see the God of Darkness in a barren, dark landscape. He was standing on a massive crystal, before he opened his massive maw, and a black ooze spilled out. The ooze pooled up, and from it emerged a black, skeleton hand with bone plates. It didn't take a genius to realize what these were. The image then turned into sights of the forest being consumed by a literal wave of Grimm.

" **So for ages the forces of destruction and creation clashed, until the time came when my brother and I came to an understanding that nothing would be gained if this conflict continued. As such, we decided to combine our powers to make one last thing, together. Something with the ability to create, destroy, know, and above all, choose."**

The image then changed again, as the two gods landed in a field of dust facing each other. In a flash of gold light and purple smoke, the two assumed to their humanoid forms. The God of Light then held out his hand, and after a moment, the God of Darkness did the same. The two both tipped their hands down, as gold liquid dripped from Light's palms, and purple liquid from Darkness'. The liquids combined, pooling and soaking into the dust. The dust then glowed, as the God of Light fell to one knee, and reached down to it. A hand then reached up, and took his finger, and as Light stood up, he pulled the first human out of the dust. The Faunus watched as they did, with a whole menagerie of emotions. Ilia's face particularly soured at the sight; she couldn't explain why, but the sight of the Faunus' oppressors being created…. It made her feel all sorts of emotions she knew weren't fair.

"From dust you were born, and from dust you will return," Darwin said, reciting one of the tenants of the Faith of the Two Brothers.

"So that's how the humans were made, but what about the Faunus?" Sienna asked

" **When these new beings, these 'masterpieces', were seen by the Spirits, they did not see them as such."**

The image changed to a prospering village, with the people going about their lives peacefully and happily. However, as they were doing so Spirits peered through the trees at the villages, glaring down at them. Ghira knew what look quite well, the look of anger, and resentment; he had seen it in other Faunus sometime ago.

" **All they felt, looking at these humans, was envy and animus. No longer were they the favored of the God of Light, a position** _ **stolen**_ **from them by the humans, and then the time came that my brother and I left this world, the Spirits remained, and their anger continued to simmer, but not just towards humanity now, but also towards my brother."**

"Why?" Darwin inquired.

" **Because he abandoned them, left them alone in a world now ruled by humans, a race that stole their creator's favor from them. So they decided that they would do something to show him by making something of their own. Something to spite my brother, an imitation, a mockery of what he had created."**

The image then changed again, it showed. Three of the High Spirits, the red, orange, and silver one, gathered deep in the clearing of the woods. One of them, the red one, held up its hand, which began to glow, and the ground in front of it began to bubble and ooze. The orange one then held up its own hand, revealing the hand of a human (there was a retching sound from Sun), which it then dropped into the ooze. The last one, the silver one, then held up various animal parts, and threw it into the ooze as well. The ooze began to boil and wreath, and shortly after, from that ooze crawled a number of beings, the first Faunus.

They were human-like in appearance, but each one had an animal traits, a tail, ears, antlers, scales, the list went on. These beings, these pitiful individuals crawling out the ooze, were really the first Faunus? All the group could only stare at their pathetic forebears. With that, the image turned back into the black void, and the Faunus were all together again. Kali began to tear up, as Ghira brought her close. Sienna fell to her knees, as Sun and Darwin hung their heads. Blake looked at her family, wanting to say something, but found she couldn't find the words; what words could even be said at this point? This was the origin of the Faunus? Them crawling weakly out of a pit of mud due to the bitterness of lesser beings of creation?

"So this is all we are?" Ilia asked slowly, looking at her hands, "An act of spite by angry Spirits against the God of Light?"

" **Yes,"** Darkness said, as he suddenly appeared before them **, "That is exactly what you were. And this world belonged to the humans before it belonged to the Faunus."** Blake glared sharply at her teacher, as everyone stared at him.

" **But that is not what you have to be now,"** Darkness continued **, "These hands may not have created your kind, but that does not give you any less of a right to be on this world. Be more than than an act of spite and bitterness."** Blake smiled at that, glad to hear that kind of wisdom from him again.

" **And there was a time where the Faunus did just that."**

"What're you talking about?" Ghira asked.

" **There is still much about the Faunus you do not know,"** Darkness said, before he flicked his wrist. The image hone changed again. They were now in a village in a dense forest. Milling about the village were a number of Faunus of varying appearances, all apparently living peacefully. Compared to the human villages they had seen, it was almost like a completely different world.

" **For nearly a thousand years after their creation, the Faunus remained ignorant of the world of humans, and the humans ignorant of them. They built their own worlds, societies, and ways, separate of each other. But then, everything changed."**

A pair of Faunus children, one with a cat tail, and one with rabbit ears were throwing a ball to each other. The rabbit girl thew the ball far, into the bushes. The cat boy volunteered to go get it, as he dove into the bushes to get it. He rooted around for a while, going deeper into the forest. That was when his keen hearing noticed something approaching. He pushed through the bushes, and soon found another child holding his ball, but to the Faunus confusion, this boy had no tail, big ears, or scales.

" **Behold, the moment when humans and Faunus first met."**

No one was sure what they had expected, but everyone thought it would be something more than this. Ilia and Sienna, for example, envisioned it as being as a point where a human army ravaged through a Faunus village, looting and burning everything in their path, or something like that. At least not just two children meeting.

The human child looked at the ball and then at the Faunus. He then smiled, and held it out to him. The Faunus seemed surprised, but smiled too, and took his ball back. Despite herself, Blake smiled at the sight, as did Darwin, Sun, and Kali. This made one thing clear: there was no prejudice there, it was just two children meeting each other.

" **In the beginning, there was no hatred, no anger."**

"So how did it all go so wrong?" Ilia muttered. That was when the image changed again. It showed the same Faunus children still staring at each other, when two women emerged from the trees, clearly their respective mothers. But instead of the soft curiosity the children showed, both women looked at each other, at the being that looked so much like them, and yet was somewhat so different. And all they could both fear upon looking at the other, was fear...

"There it is," Sienna said, "The point where it began. The point where the humans did not see other people, but hideous animals."

" **I am afraid it was not that simple."**

"What do you mean?"

" **Let us just say first blood was not first drawn by them…."**

The image eaten changed again, showing a human village, nothing really out of the ordinary, with the people mulling about their daily lives. That is, until a horrible sound began to leak from the forest on the edge of the settlement. In short order, a large band of Faunus carrying weapons, on the backs of horses charged out of the trees. The warriors cut down and burned everything in their path.

"The Faunus drew first blood?" Ghira muttered. For so long, they had only seen themselves as the victims, but now that they knew it was the Faunus who struck first, it made Ghira's head spin. Granted, the image changed again, showing a human raid on a Faunus village, and as one might be expected, the humans weren't disposed to be merciful.

" **That is how it continued for over a century, one side attacking the other, then the other attacking in retribution, and so on."**

"Just an endless cycle of violence and anger," Darwin said, solemnly tightening his grip on his staff. Blake clenched her fists; this was all too similar to who things would often go every time the White Fang launched a raid. The humans would push the Faunus, the Faunus would push back, the humans would push back harder, and it kept going on and on.

" **Yes, until from amongst the Faunus, a leader emerged.."**

The image turned to a whole army worth of Faunus gathered around a massive tree. Six Faunus, apparently leaders of a sort, consisting of a man with spider legs coming out of his back, a woman with a shark fin on her back and fins on her arms and legs, a man with frog-like skin, a man with a cobra hood, a woman with eagle wings, and a woman with a wolf tail, all fell to one knee before the individual standing before him. A man with massive deer antlers emerging from his head dressed in a green robe, and carrying a large spear, which he thrust into the air.

" **His name was Cerununnos, and he united the six Faunus tribes into one cohesive people, and would that combined strength to finally bring an end to the conflict between humans and Faunus."**

On the surface that sounded good, but looking at that individual. Anyone could tell, he was a warrior, not a peacemaker. That was when the image changed again, to show Cernunnos leading a vast army against a human city, as the humans proved incapable of stopping the Faunus forces.

" **Under his leadership, the united Faunus armies overran the various petty kings and lords of Saunus. They had abilities that the humans did not, and used them build a Wild Empire that would span the entirety of the continent."**

"That's good," Sienna said with a solid nod, "Uniting the Faunus to push back against their oppressors, and building a society where the Faunus can live in peace, without fear of the humans." Ilia nodded in agreement.

"But _what about_ the humans?" Blake asked.

"Well, I'm sure they came to an understanding with their new overlords."

" **That they did, and quite an understanding it was."**

The image then changed again, showing a vast, sprawling city filled with Faunus. But it also showed something none of them ever thought they'd ever see. Scores of humans enchained, being marched single file, carrying stones on their back, pulling statues to various Faunus leaders into the sky, and being whipped by Faunus overseers if they were too slow. Humans were shown standing on a stage, being auctioned off, while others were strung up and flogged. It was then one, singular fact set in upon the group: originally it was the Faunus who enslaved the humans. The sight horrified all those present, but possibly the most horrified were Ilia and Sienna.

" **Why are you so disturbed? Was this not what you wanted?"**

"I… I didn't want this," Ilia said.

" **You said you wanted the humans to fear the Faunus. Well this is fear."**

Ilia could only continue to stare as she watched a human child sobbing over her fallen mother, only for a Faunus in armor come over. As he got closer, his skin turned bright red, just as Ilia's would when she was angry; he was a chameleon, just like her. Her eyes widened in terror as the guard grabbed the girl by her hair, and hoisted her up.

"Stop!" Ilia cried, as she instinctively threw herself forward, only for the guard to phase right through her. Ilia looked at her hands, as she could only watch the act take place.

"It seems our own kind were not always the oppressed," Darwin mused, "Quite the opposite, actually."

" **For nearly a thousand years, the Wild Empire ruled the whole of continent, and was poised to invade and conquer the other ones under the reign of Empress Artemis."**

The image changed to show a woman with long blonde hair, spots tattooed on her arms, and a long spotted tail (marking her as a leopard Faunus) standing on the balcony of a massive palace, spreading her arms to the cheering masses beneath her. She wore a magnificent golden dress, and had an iron crown with the heads of six animals (a spider, a shark head, a frog, a cobra, an eagle and a wolf) atop her head. For the group to witness this, it was both frightening and amazing.

"To think the Faunus once ruled half of Remnant," Sienna said. She might have wholly disapproved of actions of the empire, but the idea that the Faunus were once this power sent shivers up and down her spine.

"How the mighty have fallen," Darwin mused.

"So, how did the empire fall?" Kali asked.

" **Because not all Faunus supported it and its practices. In fact, there were many who opposed such a system, including one very important young woman."**

The image then changed to show a figure running through the alleys at night, her outline showing her to be a woman. She seemed to glance around a corner, before hiding as several guards marched by. Once they were gone, she dashed across the street.

"Who's that?" Sun asked.

" **Princess Neith, the twin sister of Artemis."**

Eventually, the girl, they knew to be named Neith, came to a stop at a small house deep in the poor section of the city, where the humans lived. She looked around before she removed her hood, revealing black hair, and a set of black cat ears. A series of gasps resonated across the group.

"Blake?" Ilia asked. Indeed, the princess looked almost exactly like Blake. There were some differences, such as her hair being much shorter and the lining around her eyes being red instead of blue, but aside from those two details, Neith and Blake were virtually identical. Blake could only stare at the sight of her near doppelgänger.

"She… she looks….," she said.

" **She would resemble you, she was your ancestor."**

Those words hit Blake like a blow from Yang's fist. This woman, this princess from a bygone age, was her ancestor.

"Wait!" Sun said, "Blake's a princess?!"

"I don't think it counts when the country's gone," Blake commented, though she said it partially to herself. They then turned their attention back to the image. Neith looked around again briefly, before she took a breath, and opened the door. As she entered, the room was empty and dark, save for a candle on a table, and a young human man sitting by it, reading from a piece of parchment; he had short, dark blonde hair, and light green eyes, honestly reminding Blake somewhat of Jaune. He looked up from his paper as Neith approached, and smiled.

"Who's that?" Sun asked.

" **His name was Orion…"**

" _You made it,"_ Orion said. Neith smiled as well as she came closer.

" _Like I wouldn't have,"_ she said. The two then embraced, before the man tipped Neith's chin up to look at him, and with that, they kissed, to everyone's shock. The princess of a Faunus empire, falling in love with a human slave? It seemed almost impossible; of course there were a lot of things they would've dismissed as impossible before today, so most tried not to dwell on this. Blake then had to consider the fact that this meant she had human ancestry, no matter how distant.

" **Neith disdained the empire her sister ruled, she disdained everything about it, above all the treatment of the humans."**

The image changed to the slave drive again, as they continued building whatever Artemis wanted. Blake's fists tightened in rage at the sight, and apparently she wasn't the one with such emotions. One slave collapsed in exhaustion, which quickly attracted the attention of a guard with rabbit ears, who quickly stomped over.

" _On your feet you wretch,"_ she growled, as she held up her whip. The human just cowered beneath her, holding up her arms in a vain defense.

" _Stop!"_ Neith's voice shouted, as she suddenly positioned herself in front of the overseer _, "Leave her alone!"_ The rabbit, knowing her place, bowed at the waist and hurried away.

"It appears rebelliousness and the drive to do what's right runs far deeper in the family then previous thought," Kali said with a smile. Blake could only stare at her ancestor helping the slave her to her feet, offering her some of the water, which the slave eagerly accepted.

" **Unfortunately Neith's views were not shared by her sister. Much to the contrary…"**

The image changed again, showing Artemis sitting in a lavish throne room. Neith stood by her side as dozens of individuals, likely the Empire's ministers as generals, stood at the foot of the dais. Artemis looked only maybe half interested in the meeting, as she checked her nails, leaning on her hand. Neith sighed at her sister.

" _The human numbers continue to grow in Anima,"_ a lizard Faunus dressed in armor said, as he pointed to a large map in the center of the room _, "At the rate they're going, they may eventually overwhelm our colonies."_

" _To say nothing of their ever increasing numbers here on Saunus,"_ a goat Faunus, also in armor said _, "At this rate, the city alone may have twice as many humans as Faunus."_

" _That is of no concern,"_ a dog Faunus said with a scoff _, "We're superior to the humans in every way."_ Hearing the same words Ilia said not so long ago spoken by a man like that, it made the chameleon's skin turn a brilliant blue.

" _No,"_ the Empress said as she suddenly looked up _, "Quantity is a quality in of itself. It doesn't matter who superior we are, if the humans can send more against us. We must take action."_ With that, she rose to her feet.

" _Artemis…,"_ Neith tried to say, reaching for her sister's arm, only for it be shaken off.

" _Beginning at the end of the month,"_ she said, stepping down the dais _, "We will begin a systematic purge of the humans. Every other human in the city will be promptly and decisively culled."_ Everyone, both in the past and the present looked shocked by that suggestion, save for Blake, who only felt rage. The fact that she shared blood with a person like Artemis….

" _Your Majesty's will be done,"_ the lizard Faunus said eventually, said. Neith stared at the floor, as he fingers curled into fists, and her teeth clenched.

" **In that moment, Neith knew if she did not act, then her people would be forever damned."**

The image changed again to show inside Orion's house, with Neither and Orion standing with a number of other individuals, both Faunus and human. That needed to be stressed, Faunus and humans alike, were standing together, all united with the same goal of freedom and equality. If ever Blake needed proof that the two races could work together…

" **As it turned out, Artemis' ideals were not as widely shared as she thought they were. When the time came, many Faunus across the Empire rose in support against Artemis' reign. After that, it was only a matter of time…."**

The image changed again, to show the throne room again. Artemis was sitting alone in the dark room, holding her head in her hands, as the sounds of battle and death raged around her. She then looked up, as she watched the doors burst open, as the revolutionaries entered, with her sister at the head.

" _Artemis, it's over,"_ Neith said, as she stepped up to the dais to the throne _, "The whole army has either been defeated or laid down their arms. Please, step down."_ Artemis shook slightly, as she rose to her feet.

" _It's not over!"_ she declared _, "So long as I draw breath, the Empire endures!"_ One of the revolutionaries drew his bow, but Orion held up his hand to stop him, as Neith started to ascend the stairs towards her sister.

" _I swear by the Spirits!"_ Artemis said, pointing to Neith _, "once my army is rebuilt, I will burn this so called revolution to the ground! You and all your traitorous allies and human pets will burn, and I will…"_ She then was silenced, as she felt a huge punch to her gut. She

" _Neith,"_ she said softly. Darwin knew that look; despite her blustering, Artemis had never actually considered the possibility of killing her sister, let alone her sister killing her….

" _I love you, sister,"_ Neith whispered through her tears, as she pressed her forehead to Artemis'. With that, she pulled her blade out, and Artemis stumbled down the steps, as she came to rest at the feet of the revolutionaries, who could only break out in cheers at the death of the tyrant. Neith, however, could only look away, as Orion watched her sadly. Neith, however, then wiped away her tears, and turned to face her followers.

" _Free every last slave!"_ she ordered _, "No one will ever be in chains again!"_ Cheers resonated across the whole of the room.

"So that's how an empire dies," Sienna said, "At the hands of one's own people."

"For the sake of their own freedom," Ilia murmured.

"A lesson for the ages," Kali said. The image changed again to show Neith standing at the balcony, watching over the city, which was alive with celebration. In her hands was her sister's crown, which her ancestors had worn since Cernunnos became the first Emperor. Her attention was then taken by the sound of Orion approaching.

" _Well, you did it,"_ he said, putting a hand on his beloved's shoulder _, "The throne is your's, and we are all finally free."_ Neith was silent as she stared at the crown, at the symbol of an empire that had claimed so many lives the centuries. Her grip tightened, before she took a breath.

" _No,"_ Neith said _, "The Wild Empire had its time. It's time for a new realm to take its place."_ With that, she tossed the crown away over the balcony, where it vanished into the darkness.

" _And we'll build it, together,"_ she continued, putting her hand on Orion's chest, who put his own hand on her cheek.

" _Together, the two of us,"_ he said. Neith smile then broadened, as she shook her head.

" _Three,"_ she corrected.

" _Three?"_ Neith then took her beloved's hand, and brought it to her stomach. Orion's eyes narrowed then widened, as he looked at Neith, who nodded happily. Orion then picked up his beloved, and spun her, as they passionately kissed. The group all watched at that; everything seemed so… perfect. What caused things to become the way they were now?

"How did it all go wrong?" Sun asked. This time, the god was silent, but the image still changed. It showed Neith and Orion standing on the balcony together, before the cheering throngs, Neith now visibly pregnant, their hands interlocked. Orion held up his hand to his and Neith's people, as they prepared to lead those people into the future. That was when it happened…

It happened so fast, Orion took a moment to realize what was happening, as he stared at the arrow in his chest. Neith cried out, as she tried to catch him, but couldn't stop as he collapsed to the ground. The people all gasped at the sight, at their hero struck dead in an instant. It was only a matter of time, then, before the blame began to spread...

" _The Faunus! They killed him!"_

" _The humans tried to kill the Queen!"_ That continued, and quickly escalated. All across the city, the humans and Faunus who once stood together against tyranny started fighting, as all hope for peace seemed to evaporate then and their. As for Neith, who remained crouched beside Orion's body as her dream crumbled away into nothing, all she could do was hold up her head scream…

And with that, the image was again replaced by the void….

 **Note: Wow, this turned out long…**

 **So the Faunus were created by the High Spirits as an act of spite against the God of Light, and they once had a mighty empire to their name. A mighty empire built on the backs of enslaved humans. While I'll go further into this in the retrospective at the end of the volume, I like date idea that the Faunus weren't just arbitrarily the victims of the humans, rather they had their own bloody past.**

 **Cernunnos is the name given to a Celtic deity, generally associated with nature. While I'm sure everyone knows who Artemis and Orion were, Neith was the Egyptian goddess of the hunt. Think of her as something of the Egyptian equivalent of Artemis. I decided to stick with a theme of naming the royalty of the Wild Empire after deities associated with the wild or hunting.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Minor note, originally it was one red, one silver, one blue, and one green. I turned the green one to orange; no real reason, just thought it would work better. Also, I have made up my mind on how the pairing is going to go, so the poll is going to close. I won't tell you though...**


	62. Love and Hate

_**Love and Hate**_

The void then faded, and the group was suddenly back in the house, Darkness standing before them, folding his arms behind his back. Darwin doubled over as Blake went over to help him, not that he was the only one.

" **I trust that answers the questions you may have had,"** Darkness said. Initially he received no answer from the shock group.

"Yes," Blake finally said softly, as she finished helping the old tortoise up, "It's…. not what I expected." Kali hurried out to the window, to vomit out of it. Kali went over to her sister and started rubbing her back.

"So after all this time, the Spirits…," Sienna said slowly as she pulled herself back up.

"The Spirits don't care about us, they never did," Blake said grimly, "They created us out of bitterness and anger towards the God of Light."

"So… what do we do now?" Sun asked the god before them.

" **I cannot tell you,"** Darkness answered **, "All I can do is warn you that the Spirits still remain in this world. For what reason I do not yet know."**

"Wait!" Ilia said, "Aren't you a god? Don't you know everything?"

" **The Spirits were created by my brother, meaning I have no power over them. But if you are to do anything, you must do so with haste. Time is short."**

"It's obvious what we need to do," Blake said stepping forward, "We have to stop Adam. He wants to bring the Faunus back to the time of the Wild Empire. He doesn't care about Faunus safety, he just wants to bring back the age where we are the oppressors."

"Yes, it appears the Faunus were no always the victims," Darwin said grimly. Ilia stared at the ground at that. For so long the humans were just the enemy that tormented the Faunus for no reason, and now she knew that there was a time where the Faunus were the oppressors. Was that what Adam was trying to recapture? Was that what _Ilia_ was trying to recapture? She reached up to her face, realizing she was crying.

"It won't happen again," she then declared, "I won't let it happen again."

"Then we do what have to do to stop it," Blake said. With that, the group departed the building, Darkness reassuming his mortal avatar in the process. When they got out, a sizable crowd had gathered outside, escorting the White Fang outside, including Corsac and Fennec. During all of this, watching from the darkness was Slate Skek, as he watched his plan and ambitions fall to pieces before him.

"Sneaky, cursed Belladonnas," he hissed, "Weak, useless White Fang." Knowing better than to remain where he was, Slate quickly retreated. He would have his power someday, but not today. Blake then turned to face the crowd before her, as she took a deep breath.

"What happened here tonight wasn't because of humans, it was because of Faunus!" Blake said, "We can be just as capable of violence and cruelty as the humans can, we've just been the victims for so long, we can't think of ourselves as anything else. And if peace breeds complacency, then violence breeds more hatred, and if we don't stop it, then we have no right to blame the humans for continuing to fear us! But we can stop it! We can stop the violence now, and show the humans that we aren't the monsters Adam is demonstrating us to be." Eventually, one hand rose into the air, then another, and another, and another, until people all over the crowd were calling out in support for the cause. Ghira felt himself tearing up slightly.

"Are you crying, dear?" Kali asked with a smile.

"I have something in my eye," Ghira insisted.

"Of course," Kali answered, "I'm sure you do."

"'As long as there is one Faunus and one human who believes in coexistence, then it is a cause worth fighting for'," Darwin mused as he watched Blake's speech.

"Who said that?" Sun asked, before getting conked on the head by Darwin's staff.

"Come now, boy, don't you know your people's history?" Darwin scolded, "Those words were said by Ahmad Horus himself when William expressed his fear that humans and Faunus couldn't find common ground."

"William?"

"King William of Vale, I served as one of his advisers," Darwin explained, "When he abdicated, he said that Ahmad would best benefit from my advice."

"You knew the last king of Vale?" Sun asked in surprise.

"Indeed I did," Darwin said with a nod, "A skilled fighter to be sure, but a good man first and foremost. I feel many people these days forget such a detail about him. But that is a story for another time I'm afraid." Meanwhile, as they were talking, Sienna and Ilia approached Shade.

"Uh…, excuse me," Sienna said to the doctor. Shade blinked as he turned to the woman.

"Yes?"

"Well, we were just thinking," Sienna said, "We did some pretty bad things in our time with the White Fang. And we were just sort of wondering, if you could…" She trailed off.

"Do you forgive us?" Ilia asked bluntly. Shade looked at them for a time, before he arched an eyebrow.

"Are you looking for absolution from me?" he inquired.

"Uh…"

"Well, I do not grant it," Shade said bluntly, to the surprise of the women.

"But…"

"If you want to atone for your past crimes, you must do it through your own actions," Shade explained, "You may ask me again when you two have done some true good for this world." Ilia looked at the ground, as she messed with her hands, before Sun suddenly pinched her.

"Ow!" she protested.

"There's a little atonement now," the monkey said with a nod. Blake then chuckled at that.

"I may have an idea how to start doing some good," she said, as she smiled at her friend and aunt.

 **(in Mistral)**

Qrow frowned as he stared at his scroll. He had been expecting some kind of message from the huntsman team sent out by Leo by this point. True, Raven could be hard to track, but at least a message that they were on the right or wrong track would've been something by now. He sighed, as he hung his head.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow." Qrow glanced up to see Ruby approaching him.

"Oh hey kid, what's up?" Qrow asked, always ready to talk with his niece. Ruby looked down, rubbing her arm.

"It's… kind of embarrassing," she said.

"Oh great," Qrow grumbled to himself, knowing what this was about now, "Okay, who is it?" Ruby blinked in surprise at that.

"How did…"

"Kid, I've been around long enough to know the signs," Qrow said, "Now again, what's his name? Or her name?"

"It's…," Ruby trailed off, before taking a breath, "It's Jaune." Qrow blinked, as his mouth made an "o", before smiling.

"So, you inherited your mom's thing for blondes," he said.

"Uh…"

"Just kidding," Qrow said, holding up his hand, "How long have you been feeling like that?"

"Being honest," Ruby said, as she leaned on the balcony, "I've always had a little bit of a crush on him. He was the first real friend I had at Beacon, and then he was my partner. I mean, he's nice, he's funny, even when he's not trying to be, and we share a lot of interests. But then we travel across Anima together trying to get to Mistral, and having him around, it just made me feel secure, like everything was going to be alright." Qrow listened as his niece explained his feelings; he sighed, it wasn't like he'd never been there before himself. Another certain young woman with silver eyes herself came to mind…

"Almost surprised you didn't ask the big guy about this?" Qrow commented.

"I… just though you'd have a better idea." Being honest, that was a lie, she had wanted to ask Shade first, but hadn't been able to find him.

"Well," Qrow said, as he pulled out his flask, "I can't really tell you what to do. Are you sure you feel that way about him?" Ruby just nodded.

"Then what's the problem?" he continued, "Why don't you just talk to him?"

"Because…," Ruby said slowly.

"Let me guess, you don't know if he feels the same way, and you don't want to ruin your friendship with him," Qrow said. He'd also been there and done that; he'd let it happen to him one, he wasn't going to let it happen to her. After taking swig, he came over to his niece and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kid, if you don't do this, you could very easily miss your chance, and you'll regret it the rest of your life," he said, squeezing Ruby's shoulder. He then walked past her, leaving Ruby to stare after him, before she sighed and looked to the sky. As she thought about it, it didn't take long to realize her uncle was right; if she didn't do it now, she could and would lose her chance. Taking a deep breath, she turned on her heels to go look for Jaune. She eventually found him, where he was sparring with Weiss. Upon seeing Weiss, Ruby's breath hitched slightly, but she caught her breath.

"Jaune!" she called. Jaune paused what he was doing as he heard his partner call.

"Oh, hey Ruby," he greeted with a smile, "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." Ruby then glanced at Weiss, who pretty quickly got the point.

"I'll leave you two alone," Weiss said, "See you later, Jaune." Once she left, Ruby turned and approached her partner.

"What's up?" the blonde asked, as he sheathed his weapon. Ruby took a deep breath.

"I… you're my best friend," Ruby said, "And we've been through so much together."

"No kidding," Jaune said with a slight chuckle, "Meeting a god can do some pretty crazy stuff to a person, right?" Ruby returned the chuckle. _Here goes nothing_ she thought.

"I… I just wanted to say, I… I…." Unfortunately, as if fate was feeling especially mean spirited that evening, the door suddenly opened as Weiss came back in. Jaune glanced up and Ruby glared back, not happy to have her confession interrupted.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Weiss apologized, "But Qrow just word from Professor Lionhearted. Apparently the huntsmen team that was sent out has come back. We need to meet them at the Academy."

"Alright," Jaune answered, "Lead the way." Ruby sighed as he left, having missed her chance. Taking a deep breath, she followed her partner.

 **(on Haven Academy grounds)**

As they walked towards the meeting hall, Jaune looked up at the sky. It was a full moon tonight, which cast an eerie light over the academy grounds, and left an imposing shadow over the Imperial Palace. Granted, it was also somewhat ominous. Jaune wasn't sure why, though.

They entered into the reception hall, which was an otherwise open room, save for the end, which had a towering statue of a woman beneath a terrace flanked by stairs. That was where Lionheart was standing.

"Ah, welcome back," he said, as he looked over the group, "You… brought your weapons."

"We are Huntsmen, after all," Qrow said, eyeing Leo, before looking around, "So, where's the team?"

"They're in the back, I'm sure they're coming now."

"Why aren't they here _now_?" Qrow all but demanded. As he and Lionheart talked, Yang's eyes wandered, as she noticed a black bird perched on the railing of the balcony. A very familiar black bird.

"Raven?" she asked out loud. That got everyone's attention on the bird, which took to wing, and in a flash, transformed into one Raven Branwen, not wearing her mask. That surprised the rest of the team, to see someone other than themselves to use magic.

"Glad to see all of you too," Raven sneered, as she descended the stairs to their level.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Qrow demanded.

"Doing what I have to," Raven answered, "I'm more inclined to ask that of you. What're you doing, plotting against your own big sister?"

"What the hell's going on, Leo?" Qrow demanded, turning his attention to the professor.

"He's doing the smart thing," Raven answered, glancing at Lionheart, who was staring at his hands in a mixture of shame and nervousness, "He looked at the facts and made a judgement call about it. Don't act like he's not doing what anyone else would do in his position."

"You really want to do this, Raven?" Yang hissed, her eyes turning to slits, taking a step forward, "Even knowing what we can do?" Raven narrowed her eyes at her daughter, as she sighed.

"At this point, I don't care what you can do," she said, "Whatever you can do, Salem can do better. There's no beating her, she's invincible. At this point, better to stand behind the devil, than in her path."

"You're wrong." Of all people, those word's came from Ruby, who stepped forward.

"We _know_ we can beat Salem," she said softly but firmly, "We _know_ she's not invincible. Because we've seen greater power than her's, and together, we've found ways to do the impossible. If we can do those things together, than we can defeat Salem. Please." She then offered her hand to Raven, who stared at it, before she glared at it bitterly.

"You sound just like your mother," she said venomously. She then drew Omen, and with one slash, opened a portal. From the portal shot a fireball, which struck Pyrrha square in the torso, sending her tumbling away.

"Pyrrha!" Yang cried, as she ran over to her partner. Everyone readied their weapons, as three figures stepped through the portal.

"Cinder," Ruby growled, as her own eyes turned to slits. It was indeed Cinder and her associates. At the sight of Mercury, Weiss hissed, as cold mist leaked out of the corner of her mouth. As if to make matters worse, that was when the doors opened, as Hazel Rainhart stepped him, shutting them behind him. Shortly after, Tyrian Callows dropped from the ceiling, grinning maniacally at the group before him, his stinger and weapons at the ready. Lastly, through the roof burst Talos, who rose to his feet, and shed his cloak, revealing his whole body to be covered in white armor with bronze highlights. His gaze was focused entirely on Pyrrha.

"Oh no," Oscar murmured.

"The White Fang are getting the charges ready," Hazel announced, "No one's getting in, and no one's getting out."

"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Tyrian declared, as he held up his stinger.

 **Note: I don't think anyone was thinking this, but just in case someone was, I'll say that this** _ **isn't**_ **one of those stories where Qrow is Ruby's real father.**

 **Really not much to this chapter, mostly setting up for the next big event. I wanted the fight to actually begin next chapter, that's another matter of my writing style, I like to have fights be the main focus of the chapter, without anything to take attention from it; including the long scene in Menagerie might've distracted from the fight starting. But since we're going into the big final battle, I'm facing a bit of a dilemma, since there are things that I want to happen in the battle, but some of those things are potentially mutually exclusive.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	63. Battle of Haven

_**Battle of Haven**_

"Really, aren't you going to say 'hi' to us?" Mercury asked, "Isn't that what friends do?"

"Up your's creep!" Nora shouted.

"That's more like it!" Mercury declared. RYPJ and RWN could only stare as the lackeys of those they knew had to be Salem stood before them. They weren't outnumbered or anything, but the odds still didn't necessarily seem to be in their favor.

"How long were you with them Raven?" Qrow hissed at his sister, whose glare just hardened.

"Don't get your feathers so ruffled," Cinder sneered at him, "She only came in recently, finally using her brain. As for the lion…" All eyes immediately went straight to Lionheart, who continued to hold his head in shame.

"Professor…," Ruby said softly.

"You advise the Empress," Qrow said dangerously, taking a step forward "And you know every huntsmen in the Empire."

"I…," Lionheart began.

"Granted, he could never be as useful as the Imperial Guard," Tyrian said, as he rose to stand up straight. Everyone's attentions swung to him.

"Oh yes, they're with us too," Tyrian added, as he spread his hands in dispaly, "And they proved exceptionally easy to turn. I'll admit, I sometimes feels rather ashamed knowing my fellow Faunus can be so... malleable."

"Lin…," Ruby muttered, as she realized her friend was in danger.

"You sent that team to their death!" Qrow shouted at Lionheart, who visibly flinched under the yell.

"Oh don't be so hard on them," Tyrian continued, stepping forward "I'm sure I would've found all those huntsmen on my own at some point."

"How can you do this?" Attention fell to Jaune at his words.

"You know what you're all doing is causing of the deaths of countless people," Jaune continued, "Causing all this pain to so many people, and you're doing this all with a smile on your faces. You enjoy this? What kind of people enjoy this?"

"Jaune," Ruby said softly, as the room fell silent, staring at Jaune. The silence however was broken by the sound of Tyrian laughing, as he looked very intensely at Jaune.

"Leave this one to me," he was all he said, and in a flash, he was on top of Jaune. He thrust his stinger out, which Jaune just managed to block. Cinder was quick to make her own move, as she then leapt in Pyrrha's direction, all to eager to finally get her revenge, only to be blocked by Ruby, who had Crescent Rose at the ready.

"You want to get to her, you have to go through me," Ruby declared.

"Gladly," Cinder said, narrowing her eyes, all to happy to bring down girls like Ruby. With that, she held out her hand, as a sword manifested herself in it, and the two launched at each other, their weapons clashing. Meanwhile, Emerald had tried to go help Cinder, but was being obstructed by Yang.

"I don't think so," Yang declared. Emerald just narrowed her eyes, not happy to have her mistress obstructed from her, as she fired the sickle end of Thief's Respite at Yang, who managed to knock it away. Pyrrha moved to help her partner, but found herself having to dodge a strike from Talos. She held her sword and shield at the ready, as Talos held up his clenched fists and long blades came from both his wrists.

"Finally," Talos growled, as he got ready to fight, "I've been waiting a long time to kill you."

"What are you talking about? I don't even know who you are!" Pyrrha said.

"You will," Talos answered. With that, he sprung at Pyrrha, bring down one blade, which Pyrrha just managed to parry. Weiss looked after them, before she noticed Mercury advancing on her. She sighed, as she held Myrtenaster en garde.

"Of all the thugs to fight, why'd it have to be you?" she said.

"Cause you owe me a leg, Princess," Mercury answered, as he took a fighting stance. Weiss rolled her eyes at the quip.

"I don't know why I expected anything smarter from you," she said, as she switched Myrtenaster to fire Dust.

"I would recommend you both leave now," Hazel said cooly to both Ren and Nora as the two stood before him, with their weapons drawn and at the ready.

"And leave our friends?" Nora demanded, as she tightened her grip on her hammer.

"Better to save yourselves at this point."

"That is not going to happen," Ren said, as he took a fighting stance. Hazel just took a breath, as he cracked his neck slightly.

"So be it then," he then said, as he advanced on them. During all of this, Lionheart was watching. While he didn't doubt that the children were capable. Even Qrow, who as now battling Raven as one could've expected, wouldn't have been able to take them all at once. Figuring this was as good a chance as any to get away, he turned to bolt.

"You know, he really believed in you." Lionheart's attention was drawn to Oscar, who was slowly advancing the stairs, holding Long Memory in its collapsed form in his hand.

"Young man, I highly recommend you get out of here as soon as you can," the professor said. Oscar didn't say anything, as he expanded his cane, and took a stance. It was a stance, and more to the point a weapon, that Lionheart knew very well, as a chill ran all the way down his back to the tip of his tail.

"It can't be…," he muttered, "You've already come back?" He instinctively held up his arm, as his weapon, Stalwart opened up. An idea then came to his head… If he could deliver the boy to Salem, then he might just be able to get in the witch's good graces. And if he get in her good graces…. Narrowing his eyes in determination, he spun Stalwart, as two separate glyphs came up, and a burning rock shot at Oscar, who managed to avoid it.

"What do we do now?" Oscar asked.

" _Fight, what else?"_ Ozpin answered dryly. Oscar barely had time to hold up Long Memory, as Lionheart brought Stalwart down at him.

 **(in the Imperial Palace)**

Lin looked from her window of the massive, royal suite that served as her bedroom, looking down at Haven. Standing behind her was Rowan, while the rest of the guard stood in the corners of the room, all at parade rest.

"Hey, Rowan," she called back.

"Your Majesty?"

"Why didn't you ever go to Haven Academy?" Lin asked, turning towards her bodyguard. Rowan thought about it, before he shrugged.

"It was simply a matter of interest on my part," he said, "I never wanted to be a huntsman." Lin nodded in understanding.

"I wish I could be a huntress," she said, "To go out and fight the bad guys and save people."

"You can do that quite well from here, Your Majesty," Rowan said with a nod, before asking the other guardsmen, "Don't you agree?" He just got simple affirmations from his allies. Lin sighed, as she looked back at Haven, but her attention was quickly drawn away as the door burst open, and Chancellor Bartley burst in, looking exhausted.

"Your Majesty, Captain Hammond!" Aurelius said, as he tried to catch his breath with his hands on his knees.

"Breath, Chancellor," Rowan said, approaching him, "What's going?"

"Something's happening at Haven, Salem's forces, they've penetrated the Academy." Rowan gasped at that, as did Lin. The rest of the guard only looked straight at Aurelius as Carmine advanced in his direction.

"How could she have…," Rowan muttered.

"It doesn't matter how," Aurelius said, "Now come, we must get Her Majesty to…" He was silenced as Carmine kicked out, as a massive sickle like claw appeared out of her boot, slashing the Chancellor's throat. Aurelius was dead before he even hit the ground. Lin could only scream, as Rowan stared in shock

"What the hell are you doing?!" Rowan asked his comrade. Carmine didn't answer, as she locked the doors.

 **(in Haven Academy)**

As the fight in the Academy wore on, things weren't looking good for the students; with everything that was happening, and all the surprise, none of them were able to clear their minds enough to assume their dragon forms, which put them at a severe disadvantage. Yang was probably doing the best, as she was clearly phsically much stronger than Emerald, but Emerald was far more nimble than she was; the fight generally consisted of Yang punching at Emerald, the thief dodging the attack, before pressing her own, which Yang would block or parry. Meanwhile, Ren and Nora were doing the same with Hazel, who seemed to be able to simply soak up anything they threw at him. Oscar was doing pretty well against Lionheart, who fought with remarkable ferocity for a Faunus such as him. Perhaps desperation had something to do with it.

For his own, Jaune was doing his best to hold off Tyrian, but the fierce, and almost berserk fighting of the scorpion was hard to defend against. The most Jaune could do was occasionally block, while Tyrian attacked, with him proving far too quicky for Jaune to ever successfully attack back.

"Come on!" Tyrian hissed, as he struck out with his tail, which Jaune managed to parry, "Don't tell me you're just talk in the end!" He then lashed out with his weapons, knocking Jaune back and to the ground. Tyrian was quickly on top of Jaune, who had to roll away to avoid getting stung, as he retrieved his shield.

"Jaune!" Weiss called out, only to be reminded about what was happening as she had to avoid a strike from Mercury.

"You can't help your boyfriend now," he said. Weiss just glared at him, as she drew her finger across her rapier, as it ignited with flames, and she shot a fireball at Mercury, who literally kicked it down. He then kicked off towards Weiss, who nimbly avoided it, as she swung Myrtenaster, which Mercury parried also with his leg.

Qrow and Raven continued trading blows, though no one could get the upper hand. Qrow switched Harbinger into scythe mode and swung wide, which Raven managed to dodge easily. She then thrust Omen forward, which Qrow almost managed to dodge easily, as he switched to gun mode, and fired, which Raven deflected.

"You've done some pretty terrible things in your time," Qrow said, as he switched Harbinger back to sword mode, "But this is definitely a new low, even for you."

"I'm doing what I have to in order to survive!" Raven answered, pointing Omen at Qrow.

"By siding with the genocidal witch?!" Qrow demanded.

"This isn't about Salem," Raven said, "This is about me and the tribe."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" At that Raven paused, as she lowed Omen slightly, and looked to the ground.

"I've seen what Yang and the Schnee can do," Raven said cooly, "I think it stands to reason the rest of the kids can do the same?" Qrow wasn't entirely pleased to realize that Raven knew that little tidbit of information, but figured Yang must've found someway to intimidate her to get her to do what she asked.

"What of it?"

"I don't know here they got that power," Raven continued, "But at this point, I don't care, I only care about ensuring that my _real_ family aren't at risk." Outraged at Raven's selfish rationale, Qrow pressed his attack at his twin. The two exchanged several more blows, as the twin birds continued their struggle. Meanwhile, Talos and Pyrrha continued to fight with each other, though Pyrrha was surprised at how… aggressive Talos was being, as if he had a personal vendetta against her, and her alone. Eventually, as he came at her again, Pyrrha activated her Semblance on instinct, and the force sent Talos all the way back, which surprised her slightly.

"I will admit this," Talos said, as he recovered, and readied his blades, "you fight well." Pyrrha didn't answer, as she glared at her opponent, not sure where he was going with any of this.

"Of course, this is not the first time you fought one of my kind," Talos said, "But you will not win this time."

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha demanded. Initially, Talos didn't answer, as if the question offended him somehow, before he held one of his hands to his face plate, and removed it. But instead of seeing a human face, she saw a face that was flat and featureless save for a pair of metallic green eyes, and what almost looked like a speaker where his mouth would be. It was then that her mind made the connection.

"You're…. you're an android," Pyrrha said, "Just like…"

"Penny," Talos finished for her, as he put his face plate back on.

"What you... knew Penny?" Pyrrha asked. Talos was silent for a time, as his fists clenched, and he began to shake slightly as if rage was building. But that shouldn't have been possible in an android… right?

"Penny Polendina, was my sister!" Talos then declared. It took a while for Pyrrha to process what she was just told. The idea that Penny, an android herself, had a "brother" admittedly seemed rather strange, though she supposed in a weird way it made sense.

"How…," Pyrrha said slowly.

"You murdered her, turned her into nothing more than smoking wreck," Talos said, as he started advancing on her, his blade's dragging against the floor.

"It was an accident!" Pyrrha said.

"You _must_ pay for what you've done!" Talos declared, as he held up his arms. To Pyrrha's horror, _another_ pair of arms unfolded from his back, also armed with blades. The now four armed android pointed all his blades at Pyrrha.

"I don't care how long it takes, but I will avenge my sister's murder," he declared, "You will suffer for what you've done!" With that, he sprung at Pyrrha, swinging all four of his blades at her. Pyrrha leapt out of the way, but she felt one of the blade's graze her cheek slightly. Tumbling away, Pyrrha felt the blood. While he had no facial expressions, Pyrrha swore she could _feel_ the bloodlust coming off of him.

"You have to understand," she said, "I didn't mean to kill her!"

"You think that matters?!" Talos responded, as he leapt at her again, thrusting his blades down. Pyrrha blocked his upper arms, but then Talos' lower arms came up, and slashed up, knocking her shield away. Talos then grabbed her by the throat, and slammed her into the ground.

"Pyrrha!" Yang called, but couldn't break away from her fight with Emerald.

"All Penny was doing was dueling you in the tournment, but you... you" Talos hissed, as he pointed one of his blade's at Pyrrha's eye, "You mudered her in cold blood!" He then held up his blade.

"That's not what I saw," Pyrrha then muttered. Talos wasn't sure why, but that made him stop. What was this girl talking about?

"What do you mean?" he demanded. Pyrrha then looked the android straight in the eyes.

"There was an illusion," she explained, "I didn't just see her challenging me, I saw an entire cloud of blades coming at me, and I... I acted on instinct." Talos hestitated at that, and his gaze drifted in another direction, towards Emerald, the one he knew could induce halluciantions, and who helped Cinder in her infiltration at Beacon. In that moment of distraction, Pyrrha was able to unleash her Semblance, as the wholly metal being was suddenly pushed off her. Talos careened across the room, before slamming into the wall.

Meanwhile, Ruby let out a cry, as she ducked a slash from Cinder. She followed up by firing a bullet at her, only for the Maiden to easily deflect it. She then manifested her bow, and took aim, with Ruby using her Semblance to dodge the attack. She then switch back, and gave a wide slash at Cinder, who caught the scythe with a spear made out of fire. Cinder then sneered at Ruby, who gasped, as sword appeared in her hand, and she swung up. Ruby was forced to abandon Crescent Rose to avoid the attack, as she stumbled down.

"You're way in over your head," Cinder said, as she approached Ruby, glaring down at her with her one eye, "How did you think this would end?"

"I don't know," Ruby answered, returning the glare, "But I wasn't going to let that stop me."

"Kids these days," Cinder growled, as she spun her spear through her hands, "Always the same stupid thought they can save the world alone."

"No." The sheer forcefulness behind those words actually made Cinder stop, as she cocked her head.

"Pardon?" she inquired.

"I never thought of doing this alone," Ruby said as she pulled herself to her feet, "I was always going to do this with those I cared about. They are who are important not me." She then took a fighting stance as she faced the Fall Maiden.

"And as long as they're okay, I don't care what happens to me," she declared. Cinder looked at her for a time, as her grip on the spear lessened, before it suddenly tightened.

"Well, in that case," she said with a shrug. She then threw the spear, but not at Ruby….

Weiss quickly switched Myrtenaster Dust, and when Mercury kicked her, and she parried, it sent a shock through Mercury, who instinctively flung himself back, as he stumbled away. Weiss nodded in affirmation, as she moved to press the attack, when she suddenly felt like she had just been slugged in the gut. All the fighting in the room seemed to stop, as everyone looked in her direction suddenly.

"Well," Tyrian said between laughs, "Ain't that a sight?" Jaune opened his mouth as if to call out, but no words came out. Talos and Hazel continued to stare coldly at the sight, while Mercury and Emerald both smirked. Nora's eyes turned as wide as saucers. Weiss could only stare down, at the glowing red spear coming out of her torso right beneath her breast. She let out a weak gasp, as friends continued to only stare at her. Raven, however, was staring in shock at the sight; she knew what was coming now….

"You fool," she muttered. That was when Weiss then let out a cry, as a white light then consumed the entire room, and the cry turned into a roar….

 **Note: I debated to myself whether or not to include the entire fight in one chapter. In the series, it spans nearly four episodes, each 15 to 16 minutes long, sometimes longer. The big question was how to incorporate my own elements (the dragons, the new characters, etc.) into the narrative, since there were scenes that I really wanted to happen for the sake of plot and character. Also, you'll note Vernal's absence, there is a reason for this, but I won't say what. I'm sorry some characters got more focus in the fight than others, but it's easier**

 **I'll now clarify that Talos refers to an automaton from Greek mythology who guarded Crete. I think most people at least had an idea that he was an android, or at least a cyborg, but I didn't want to make it too obvious. However, in turns of the story he's based off of, I'd say he's closer to the character of Robbie from the short story of the same name by Isaac Asimov. As for how exactly, you'll see.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	64. Dragon Rage

_**Dragon Rage**_

Everyone in the room had to held up their face to block the light, though the force of the strike caused Mercury to tumble away, and slam into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Though somewhat blinded, the students could only smile at the sight, as from the light unfolded a pair of wings. The light soon faded, and standing before the group was Weiss as a dragon, cold mist leaked from her jaws. Salem's forces could only stare at the sight before them.

"What in the hell?" Emerald muttered.

"What is this?" Hazel asked out loud. Cinder just stared, as memories came back to her from Beacon, of a creature that was quite similar, only red. That was when her mind went to Pyrrha, who was staring at Weiss in anticipation. Could it have been….

Tyrian turned out to be the first one to regain his senses, as he took advantage of Jaune's distraction. He then sprung at the blonde, who just had enough time to hold up his shield as Tyrian brought his stinger down at him, knocking him to the ground. Weiss let out a shriek, as she suddenly darted at Tyrian, who had to leap out of the way. Jaune looked up to see Weiss looming over him protectively, glancing around. Though the white dragon would've loved to just unleash her ice breath on all those assembled, between the size of the room, not to mention her own size, she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't be able to avoid hurting her friends. She then glanced out towards the sky, before she grabbed Jaune in one of her claws, and to his surprise, put him on her back.

 _Hold on!_ Weiss said, with that, she flapped her wings, and trust through the roof.

 _Where're you going?_ Jaune asked.

 _To a place where I can move freely!_ Weiss answered. As she flew up, Talos glared up at her, before glancing at Pyrrha. He knew that if he let the dragon just go like that, she would come back, and strafe his allies. The android's revenge would have to wait, this took priority, and at any rate, he needed some answers from Emerald later. But as he shot out to follow Weiss, Tyrian grabbed his leg, and hoisted himself onto Talos' back.

"The hell you doing?!" Talos snapped.

"I ain't missing a chance like this," Tyrian answered, "And you're going to need all the help you can get." Talos growled, but didn't protest, as he zoomed towards Weiss, with Tyrian on her back.

"No fair!" Ruby shouted in displeasure as she watched them go. She wanted to be the first dragon Jaune would ride. She wanted to transform as well, and join the fight, but as she saw Nora get knocked away by Hazel, she knew that they still needed her there.

Meanwhile, with Qrow momentarily distracted, Raven seized the opportunity to get the upper hand. She quickly pressed her attack, forcing Qrow on the defensive. Eventually, Raven managed to get a solid strike against Qrow, knocking him away, as he hit the wall, his Aura depleted. Raven took a breath, as she then made to move towards Leo, only for Cinder to suddenly be in front of her, a fire sword in each hand.

"And when did you plan on telling us about this?" Cinder growled.

"I knew you'd be able to figure it out yourselves," Raven said. Cinder hissed at that; she remembered now, what happened atop Beacon Tower. She wasn't sure how, but she knew Pyrrha had that same power, and she had used it to defeat Cinder then.

"How are we supposed to beat these things?" she demanded.

"Frankly, I doubt you will," Raven answered, "You will provide a decent means of distraction, though." Before Cinder could even answer, Raven socked her in the gut, and kicked her upside the head, knocking Cinder away. She then glanced over to see Lionheart trying to slip away. Raven quickly turned into a bird, and zipped over to him, and when she reappeared in front of the professor, Lionheart let out a weak gasp as he fell back to his rear.

"Give me the key," Raven commanded. Having neither the will nor the position to argue, Lionheart promptly handed over his pocket watch, which Raven snatched, and approached the statue beneath the stairs. She then put the watch on it, and it was only a moment before the statue slowly lowered, revealing an elevator. Cinder looked up to see Raven descending into the vault.

"No!" she cried, as she tried to get up to follow her now "former" ally". However, she promptly got knocked away by Pyrrha, who pointed Milo at her.

"You wanted me, didn't you?" she said, facing her down. Cinder just growled, as she manifested a bow and arrow, and fired five arrows at once, which Pyrrha all deflected. The red head then leapt at her enemy, turning Milo to its spear form, which she thrust forward. Cinder reformed her bow into a spear of her own, allowing her to block.

"Cinder!" Emerald called. She then looked towards Yang who was moving to attack again. Emerald narrowed her eyes, and activated her Semblance. She created an image of Mercury attacking Yang, which did distract her, and Emerald quickly pressed to finish this fight and get to Cinder. However, when she brought Thief's Respite down on Yang, the blonde caught it, to Emerald's shock. Yang then looked to her, her lilac eyes slitted, like a dragon's.

"You'd think it'd be that easy?" she asked. She then heaved Emerald over her shoulder, slamming her straight into the ground, knocking her unconscious. Yang then leapt to go help her partner.

No!" Pyrrha called, as she blocked Cinder's attack, "Go stop Raven!"

"I ain't leaving you!" Yang declared, "Not again!"

"Yang!" Pyrrha said, as she looked over her shoulder while blocking Cinder's attack, "Please." Green eyes locked with lilac eyes, and after a moment that felt like an hour, Yang nodded, before she was engulfed in a brilliant yellow light, which proceeded to zip down the lift down towards the vault. Cinder looked to follow her, but was pushed off by her opponent.

"What, afraid I'll take the other half of your face?" Pyrrha said. Taunting like that was certainly out of character for her, but she knew if she stared in character so firmly like this, it probably wouldn't produce the desired results. And, true to form, Cinder let out an angry growl, as she pressed her attack.

 **(in the Imperial Palace)**

Lin was backed up into the corner, as Rowan stood in front of her, bloody and bruised, but still keen to fight. Holding his fighting stance, he stood surrounded by those he once counted as his friends. They also looked somewhat beaten, but not nearly as much as their former leader. None of the Imperial Guard used weapons in the sense of the word. Rather, they used a form of hand to hand fighting enhanced by their armor.

"I don't know why I didn't see this coming," Rowan said, as he looked around them, his stance hardening. He had known they had rather… strong views when it came to Mistral's treatment of the Faunus. Not that Rowan could necessarily blame them, were he being honest.

"You've always been shortsighted," Cornell said.

"And you think this'll make things better?" Rowan said, "Killing the Empress of Mistral?"

"It's for the good of the Faunus," Cherry said.

"'Good of the Faunus', are you being serious?" Rowan demanded, "Don't you realize what we were doing here? Five Faunus trusted with the life of a human ruler, do you not understand what this meant for the Faunus?"

"But nothing ever changes!" Carmine snapped, "The humans will always push us down no matter what we do." Lin listened, and looked down at that. As much as she wished otherwise, Carmine was right, she hadn't done enough for them.

"We can't beat them outright, so most we can do, is poke them is hit them where it hurts when we can!" With that, she leapt at Rowan again, who held up his armored arms to block her bladed kicks.

 **(in the skies over Mistral)**

Riding a dragon as harder than the fantasy books would have you believe, as Jaune was now learning. Aside from the fact that the only thing he could hold onto were the few icicle like spikes on Weiss' back, between the wind and the speed she was flying. Jaune wasn't sure if he was screaming with all the noise, but he hoped he wasn't.

 _Can you please fly a little more carefully?_ Jaune asked.

 _I'm not used to flying 'carefully' ,_ Weiss answered, as she beat her wings again. Jaune sighed, as he glanced over his shoulder, noticing Talos catching up with them, and perched on his back, somehow balancing, was Tyrian.

 _They're still chasing us!_ Jaune said. Weiss glanced over her shoulder.

 _Good_ she answered, smiling slightly, before veering back in their direction. As she did, Tyrian's grinned.

"Ready, bolts?" he sneered. Talos didn't answered, as Weiss came up on them, opening her mouth, and releasing her ice breath. Talos veered out of the way, before Tyrian leapt off as the two fliers passed each other, landing on Weiss' back.

"Oh yeah!" he declared, holding his weapons at the ready, "This is a _much_ better way to fight!" Jaune could only clench his teeth, as he shakily rose to his feet on the dragon's back, holding his sword at the ready.

As he flew past, Talos turned around, and held up all four of his hands like finger guns, as slots on each index finger opened. He then started firing energy beams at Weiss, and while she felt them, they didn't do any real damage. Weiss snapped at him with her jaws, but he pretty easily dodged the attack, as he continued firing, though it still didn't do any real damage. After dodging a blast from Weiss' ice breath, he then brought his forms hands together with his palms held out. They al started glowing in unison, as Talos released a huge burst of energy at Weiss. He got a direct hit, and this actually caused Weiss to cry out in pain, to her surprise. She reared back, causing Jaune to lose his foot, and hold onto one of Weiss' spines. Tyrian slipped, and fell back, but grabbed onto Weiss' tail, and then hoisted himself back up to Jaune's level, who had to hold up his shield to block his strike.

"At last!" the scorpion roared, "I've been waiting for a fight this good!" Jaune could only grunt in frustration, as he pulled himself to his feet on Weiss' back, and swung his sword, which Tyrian dodged, and thrust forward with his stinger. Jaune managed to avoid the attack, as he then swung up, though Tyrian dodged out of the way again. He struck his tail out, as Jaune just managed to move his head out of the way, the stinger passing so close the blonde could feel the wind across it.

Weiss then jerked again to avoid a strike from Talos, calling the Faunus and the teen to lose their footing again. Talos then held up his arms, as a large box on his back started to glow. Dust then traveled through wires into his four shoulders, as his four blades started to glow red, light blue, yellow, and purple. He then dove at Weiss, spinning, as he swung his red one, creating a curtain of flames. While it didn't do any damage, it did catch the dragon off guard, as she recoiled back. Talos then came through the fire, and slashed his purple tinged blade up. Weiss tried to avoid it, but the blade still grazed her scales, and the gravity Dust sent out a shock that actually forced her back. Talos quickly followed up with his yellow enhanced blades, and to both Weiss and Jaune's shock, penetrated her scales. Weiss roared in pain, as electricity coursed through her body.

"Weiss!" Jaune cried out. That all surprised Jaune; normally she was much more nimble in dragon form, and should've been able to dodge that without issue. As he fell to her back again, as he looked down, noticing something on Weiss' on flank. On closer look, she noticed it was a wound, in the same proportionate place as she got stabbed by Cinder as a human. And now that Jaune noticed it, Weiss was flying somewhat slower than normal.

"Weiss…," he tried to say, only to get interrupted when Tyrian came at him again.

 **(in Haven)**

Things were heating up in Haven, especially since Hazel found out that Oscar was Oz's latest incarnation. He was now in a near berserk rage, virtually ignoring both Ruby, Ren, and Nora solely in favor of Oscar. According to Oz, Hazel's younger sister was a student of Oz's at one point, who died in the line of duty, and Hazel blamed Oz for her death.

Meanwhile, Cinder and Pyrrha were still fighting, and while Cinder had the Maiden powers. But as Cinder pressed her attack, she got progressively more frustrated, knowing Pyrrha was holding back.

"Show me it!" she suddenly shouted.

"What?" Pyrrha asked.

"Show me that power!" Pyrrha blinked at the mention of that, but she quickly realized what exactly she was talking about. Her teeth clenched at that, as her grip on Milo tightened. But that was when her enemy shot at her, locking weapons again.

"Show me!" Cinder repeated.

Pyrrha then cried out, as she was consumed in a red light that knocked Cinder back. Landing on her feet and skidding to a halt, the Maiden grinned in anticipation as the massive serpentine dragon emerged from the light, glaring down at her enemy, steam leaking from the sides of her jaws. Cinder began to shake slightly.

"I want it… I want it…," she chanted to herself, "I WANT IT!" With that, she soared into the air with her Maiden powers, dashed at Pyrrha, who snapped at her, only for her to miss completely, as Cinder burst through the ceiling, into the air; Pyrrha opened her wings and followed her out.

Once she was outside, she then unleashed her fire on Cinder, who managed to dodge. Cinder created a bow, which she fired at Pyrrha, who dodged the attack, and dove at Cinder, snapping at her with her jaws. Cinder managed to twist out of the way, and grabbed onto one of Pyrrha's horns. She then manifested a spear, and stabbed into into Pyrrha's side. The serpent howled in pain, before she lashed her tail up, the blade at the tip glowing hot. Cinder looked up as the blade came at her, her eyes widened. She then leaned back, as the blade grazed along her mask ever so slightly. She leapt away, as she floated in the air, the two halves of the mask falling to the ground.

Pyrrha hovered in the air, glancing at her wound. It hurt, but it didn't look too bad. She then looked back to Cinder, who was glaring at her, and the dragon was able to see what she was hiding. Her otherwise beautiful face was severely scarred, with her eye covered in scar tissue, and her cheek torn, showing her teeth. If not for her being her enemy, Pyrrha would've felt sympathetic. As for Cinder, she was still smiling.

"Incredible," she said. That power surpassed even that of the Maidens. Cinder immediately didn't care about getting the power of the Spring Maiden. All she wanted was the power of the dragon. She then grabbed her bandage arm, and ripped them off. To Pyrrha's shock, Cinder's whole arm was that of a Grimm. The sight sickened her.

" **That's what you're willing to do?"** she growled **, "That's what you're willing to sacrifice for power."** Cinder scoffed slightly.

"As if you didn't make sacrifices for your power," she said.

" **No, I didn't."** Cinder didn't believe that for one second, as her scoff turned into a sneer.

"It doesn't matter," she said, as she flexed Grimm fingers, "I will have that power."

" **You could never wield such power,"** Pyrrha answered dangerously. That made Cinder's smile disintegrate, as it turned into a fierce glare. Now she was just determined to prove Pyrrha wrong, as she launched herself at the dragon, who herself struck forward.

 **(beneath Haven)**

Raven stared up at the Spring Shrine, where the Relic of Knowledge was sealed. She had told Cinder that after they defeated those at the Academy, they would go back to the camp and retrieve Vernal, but that was never the plan. Raven's _real_ plan was to let the dragons distract them, while she got the Relic for herself, and she didn't even need to put Vernal at risk for that. Instead, she just put her hand on the door, as her eyes suddenly glowed light red, revealing herself as the _true_ Spring Maiden. The door literally faded away, revealing an entrance to what almost looked like a desert in a void. On a pedestal at the end, stood a gold and blue lamp, the Relic. Raven's eyes narrowed, as she looked at her hand, it was shaking slightly.

" **What're you planning on doing with that?"** Raven froze, as she looked over to her shoulder, to see Yang floating behind her in dragon form.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," Raven answered, as she drew Omen, and held it at the ready.

" **I think the fact that I'm a dragon permits me to know things like that,"** Yang answered. Raven's scowl hardened, as she tightened her grip slightly.

"I'm not going to use it," she said, "I'm going throw it into the ocean, and let it sink the to bottom."

" **Gee, great hide spot."**

"Maybe Salem will find it eventually, but not in my lifetime, or any of our's," Raven answered.

" **Anything to survive one more day, huh?"** Yang growled **, "Doesn't matter how it affects the future, just so you can protect yourself."**

"That's all that truly matters in this world," Raven hissed, pointing her blade at the beast before her, "The weak die, and the strong survive."

" **And the Spring Maiden?"** Yang inquired, leaning down further **, "What about her? Was she weak?"** Raven looked down for a time, narrowing her eyes, before looking back up.

"She would never had made it in this world," she said, "What I did was an act of mercy." Yang growled, an imposing sound that sent a shiver up and down Raven's spine.

" **Well, one way or another, I'm the one leaving with that relic, not you."** Raven's answer was to take her fighting stance. Yang's own eyes narrowed, as steam began to leak from his mouth.

" **You can't beat me Raven,"** she said, as she reared back.

"Well, won't know until we try," Raven answered, as her eyes started glowing. And with that, the two sprung at each other.

 **(in the Imperial Palace)**

Rowan let out a grunt as he was slammed against the wall, holding his bleeding side. He looked up around at his former friends, all beaten also. They weren't as beaten as he was, but they somehow all seemed more tired, all them panting, and slouching.

"You're strong," Carmine said, as she advanced on him slowly, "I shouldn't have expected anything less from our captain." Rowan looked at her coming forward, before glancing over to the corner, where Lin was staring at him, tears in her eyes. It was then that memories flooded his mind.

 _(Flashback)_

 _A sixteen year old Rowan was thrown to the floor. He had been caught trying to steal something (what it was didn't really matter) from the Palace using his Semblance, which allowed him to remold anything he touched. He was now being brought before the Emperor, who was sitting in his lounge. 32nd Emperor Jian Hanzhi lounged on his chair, as he studied the board of the shogi game in front of him. He was dressed in gold robes, with a shaved head, with a short white beard and mustache._

" _What is it?" the Emperor asked, not even looking up, as he moved a piece._

" _Your Majesty, this Faunus was found trying to infiltrate the palace," the then Captain of the Guard said, holding up Rowan by the hair, "What would you have us do with him?" The Emperor very briefly glanced at him, before turning his attention back to the game._

" _Do what you will with him," he said. There was a period of silence, as the guards exchanged glances, before looking down at Rowan, who looked back up at him. They then all broke into dangerous looking grins, ones Rowan had seen before in the streets. He tried to beg for mercy, but the Emperor wouldn't even spare him a glance as he was dragged away._

" _Father," a teen voice called over. Eyes were drawn to the other side of the room, where a young man with light green hair, dressed in similarly colored robes was sitting, a book in his lap, looking at Rowan._

" _I think it deserves commendation that he managed to evade our guards," Crown Prince Fen Hanzhi said._

" _What's your point?" Jian asked, as he looked towards his son._

" _He could maybe be useful to us," the prince said, as he rose to his feet._

" _How so?"_

" _Leave him to me," Fen said, coming up to Rowan, "I'll vouch for his good behavior." Rowan looked up at the prince, then at the Emperor, who looked at his son, then at the Faunus, and shrugging._

" _Go ahead, it means nothing to me," he said, turning back to his game. The guards released Rowan, who collapsed to the floor. The Faunus weakly looked up, as the prince fell to one knee._

" _Come on, I can get you something to eat at lot easier."_

 _(five years later)_

 _Fen was knocked to the ground. If not for his express instructions, the guards may have already killed Rowan, as the two trained in the palace grounds. The 21 year old prince leapt back to his feet, as he held his sword at the ready, while Rowan spun his training sword through his hand._

" _You cover your flank well, my Prince," Rowan said, gesturing with his own, "Again." The two jousted again, as Fen struck forward, only for the Faunus to catch his arm, and twist the sword out of his hand, putting his own sword to Fen's throat, who chuckled slightly._

" _Trying to enjoy this while I can," he said, as the two started walking to the side, "We won't be able to do this much longer." Rowan was silent for a moment, knowing exactly what that meant._

" _You're getting married soon, aren't you?" he said, as he offered his prince some water._

" _Father finally got me to do it," Fen answered, "Probably means I'll be having a kid soon." Rowan paused, before nodding briefly at that, sipping some water._

" _I'll protect them as well when the time comes," Rowan said, with a firm nod, "I promise that." Fen smiled, as he put his hand on Rowan's shoulder._

" _Thanks," was all he said. Rowan reached for his friend's hand on his shoulder, before he paused, and just nodded at that._

 _(six years later)_

 _It couldn't be happening. It wasn't supposed to be happening. And yet, the man who was to be the 33rd Emperor of Mistral was lying in his bed, dying. Rowan was kneeling beside the bed of his friend, while a handmaiden was standing not far away, holding a toddler Lin in her arms while she slept. The Emperor himself, as well as his court, however, was conspicuously absent._

" _She'll be alone in the world," Fen muttered, referring to his daughter, as her mother had died in childbirth._

" _I'll be here," Rowan said, as he leaned in closer, "I'll protect her." Fen then put his hand on his shoulder._

" _Promise me, Rowan," he said, "Promise me you'll protect her."_

" _I promise," Rowan answered, only for Fen to grab his collar, and use what little strength he had to pull the Faunus closer._

" _Promise!" he repeated. Rowan looked his friend in the eye, before he nodded._

" _I swear on my life, I will protect that girl until my last breath," he said, putting his own hand on Fen's shoulder. With that, the prince's nodded, and his grip slackened. As the light faded from his eyes, Rowan covered his face, as he suppressed a sob, before he rose to his feet, and walked over to the handmaiden, as he took Lin in his arms, and held her close._

" _I'm here," he promised, "And I won't ever fail you."_

 _(End Flashback)_

"Any last words?" Carmine hissed, as she readied the claw on her boot.

"I won't fail…"

"Come again"

"I won't fail," Rowan repeated, as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. He then looked straight at Lin, who looked him in the eye shakily.

"I won't fail!" Rowan declared, as he grabbed a large, nearby statue, and activated his Semblance, causing it to reshape itself into a crude club, "I'll take you all on!" He then swung his weapon wide, forcing all four to jump back. Cherry came down with her claws, though Rowan ducked out of the way, and elbowed her in the face, stunning her, which allowed Rowan to knock her away with his club. Roy was the next come, his frill spread, as he used his Semblance to spit a glob of acid, which hit the statue; he then leapt at Rowan, who dodged his kick, and head butted him, before grabbing Roy by the collar, and threw him into the wall, and before Roy could recover, Rowan threw the melted remains of the club into Roy's face.

Cornell then made his move, as he leapt at Rowan, using his membrane to glide in his direction, his head lowered, as the crest on his helmet pointed at his former captain. Rowan responded. Carmine then came at him, kicking with her talons, which Rowan managed to dodge, before he grabbed her leg, and threw her away.

"Who's next!" he roared.

 **(in the skies over Mistral)**

It had been an otherwise normal night in Mistral, until the people heard the sound of roaring, and they looked up to see two dragons in the skies over them. While they were not the same dragons as the one's seen at Beacon, that didn't make seeing them any less spectacular. Nearly the entire population of the city could one stare in awe at the sight before them.

While Pyrrha continued to snap at Cinder, Weiss did the same with Talos. Unfortunately for her, the wound she had wasn't getting any better, and if anything, the constant movement was making it worse. Jaune wished he could do something about it, but it wasn't like he could really do anything, especially with Tyrian constantly trying to gore him.

Using his shield to block one of Tyrian's pincers, Jaune thrust forward with Corcea Mors, which Tyrian easily avoided. He then head butted Jaune, causing him to slip down to Weiss' back. Tyrian smiled in anticipation, as he got his tail ready.

" **Jaune!"** Weiss called, as she noticed that. She then lashed her tail up, striking at him off. Tyrian was sent flying off, where Talos managed to catch him. The scorpion swung up to Talos back, and stood on it. Meanwhile, Weiss weakly hissed, as her flapping rhythm faltered slightly.

"Weiss!" Jaune called.

" **I'm fine,"** Weiss answered.

No your not!" Jaune answered. He then crawled over to the wound, as he tried to think of something to do. Did normal first aide work on dragon injuries? He figured there wasn't any harm in trying. He started applying pressure on it.

"Come on! Come on!" he said. Unfortunately their enemies were so kind as to wait for them. Talos jetted by, as he held up two arms, and fired an energy beam, directly into Weiss' wound. Weiss let out a pained roar that shook the windows of Mistral, and made the people gaze up in shock at such a mighty beast in distress like that.

"Weiss!" Jaune cried. He then pressed harder, as he clenched his teeth.

"Please! Please!" he chanted. He poured all his will, desire, and hope into what he was doing.

 _Darkness_ he thought _Help me…_ That was when he felt something.

Jaune wasn't sure how, but he could feel Weiss' Aura, and he closed his eyes to focus on it. He then began to feel Weiss' Aura begin to swell, as his Aura also swelled. New strength flowed through Weiss' body, as her eyes started glowing white. Jaune's own eyes then opened, glowing gold, as his body was consumed in gold light, as Weiss was consumed in white light, as it eventually parted away. Even the psychotic Faunus, and the otherwise stoic AI were shocked by what emerged from it

It was a two headed dragon.

 **Note: I'm sure I'm going to read this in the reviews: "Why did they have so much trouble? They should've defeat them easily as dragons? This is so stupid!" I'm probably paraphrasing, but you get the idea. Well, the reason I did what I did was simple. I write for three reasons: to entertain people, to practice my own writing ability, and most important, to have fun doing it. I'm writing this story to have fun, and being able to entertain my readers is a delightful bonus. And what makes for an entertaining and fun to write scene is seeing dragons fight an android, a scorpion man, and a fire witch in the sky. What** _doesn't_ **make for a scene that's entertaining and fun to write is seeing one character simply breath fire/ice and ending it then and there. That's it people, don't think about the major details like that.**

 **I initially planned on this chapter having the whole fight, but it was already getting a bit too heavy for my tastes, so I decided to wrap it up fully next chapter. So Jaune's got his Semblance, but it seems its done some extra work as well. There are currently four fights in three different places happening, two of which involve dragons, so ancitipate some fights getting more or less attention than others.**

 **I'll go into this later, but I thought it was appropriate for Rowan to have some personal history with Lin and her family. It gave more reason for him to remain loyal to her.**

 **Be sure to review. Also, this story now has a TVTropes page. Feel free to edit it.**

 **Well, we've got one more episode to go (at least for us RT subscribers) in Vol. 7. Looking back on the whole of** _ **RWBY**_ **, I'm finding out more and more that the series works better when watched collectively, instead of episodically, as if each volume were a movie instead of a season. Pacing becomes much less an issue in that case, and even the CRWBY has noted that it often works better that way in the commentary. My biggest fault with the season was really how little attention JNR got; the biggest development they had was Ren and Nor finally getting together, and even that was forgotten after the episode. Some say that after they got more attention in Vol. 4 and 5, the yuri shippers (which let's be honest, are probably the most vocal of the fandom) raged, and RT bent to them. I'd like to assume that's not the case, but I still wish JNR got more attention.**


	65. Dragon Kin

_**Dragon Kin**_

 _(/)_

 _Memories flooded through Jaune's mind. Images of a small girl in white sitting against the wall while two tall forms screamed at each other; of an older girl, also in white teaching her how to spar; of a small boy in white approaching the girls, only for both to walk right past him. Of a young woman in white standing before a huge crowd of people, singing a song she didn't like; of her arriving at Beacon for the first time; of meeting a girl with orange hair. Of practicing with a young man with blonde hair. Of feelings he couldn't pinpoint…._

 _(/)_

 _Memories flooded through Weiss' mind. Of a small boy with blonde hair holding a "help" sign up while he was surrounded by seven girls, also with blonde hair, as two adults took their picture; of a small boy being shown a sword and shield over the fire place mantle; of a young boy looking up at a statue of the King of Vale. Of a young man typing rampantly on the computer, to try and make up his own transcripts; of him encountering a towering dark figure. Of him meeting a girl in red, and of him practicing with a girl in white._

 _(/)_

" _Our bodies are one; our Auras are one. We are bound together, as a single force, to protect our friends."_

For the people on the ground, it was as if a god had just appeared in the skies over them. Even Pyrrha and Cinder were made to briefly stop their fight to stare at what was happening before them. As for Tyrian and Talos, the latter was starting to calculate their odds are progressively lower as he looked upon the great beast before them.

This dragon was large, noticeably larger than the other dragon forms. It had white scales with golden streaks crisscrossing across it's body. It's great wings were white with red spots, going the length of its spine was a short, golden sail, which ended with a similarly colored sail on the end. But the greatest distinguishing feature were it's two heads; the right head was that of Jaune, while the left head was Weiss.

Talos immediately held up his four hands up, to release his energy beam. However, after he fired, the beam was deflected off the dragon's Aura, which was beautiful white and gold. Both heads then inhaled, before the white head breathed ice, and the gold head breathed fire.

"I'm taking this!" Tyrian announced, as he stabbed one of his weapons into Talos' leg, allowing him to rip it off.

"What the hell are you doing?" Talos demanded.

"Saving my ass!" Tyrian answered, as, he floated down, the gravity Dust powered thrusters on leg still functioning. Talos could only look up, as the fire and ice swirled together, and it consumed him, utterly obliterating the android's body. Tyrian managed to land, as he took a breath. He then looked up at the sight of the two headed dragon.

"Next time kids," he muttered, as he fled into the shadows. The dragon then held up both heads, as it roared into the sky in victory. The Mistrali people could only stare in awe at the great beast before them.

 **(in the Land of Darkness)**

Deep in the bowels of Salem's lair, was a large chamber. And lined up in that chamber were multiple metallic figures, all exact replicas of Talos. One suddenly stood rigid, it's eyes glowing. Looking at his hand, Talos clenched and unclenched his fingers.

"I lost," he muttered. He would have to avenge his sister another day; first, he had to get some real answers about what really happened….

 **(in the skies over Mistral)**

Pyrrha smiled at the sight of her friends victorious, though she wasn't entirely sure how they'd done that. Granted, Cinder was not so inclined to savor the moment, as she again sprung at Pyrrha, armed with a fire spear. Pyrrha moved out of the way, only for Cinder to throw the spear at Pyrrha, embedding it in her tail, with a chain attached. Pyrrha hissed in pain, as she then dove down, with Cinder still holding on behind her.

People on the streets had to dive out of the way, as the dragon swooped over them, skimming the roofs of the building. It was so low, Cinder caught herself dashing across one or two roofs. Pyrrha then swooped back up, in an attempt to throw her off, but Cinder was nothing if not persistent. She held on, and even started to slowly climb up the chain. Eventually, using the momentum of Pyrrha making another dive, Cinder let go, and let loose another chain, that managed to hook around Pyrrha's horn, pulling the Maiden towards her serpentine foe. Landing on Pyrrha's back, she then held up her Grimm arm, and thrust it into Pyrrha's body.

"Give me your power!" she cried. With that, red energy began to drain from Pyrrha through the arm.

"It's mine! It's mine!" Cinder cried, as she felt the Grimm arm draining the energy from the dragon. But then…

It was suddenly like her every cell in her body was on fire. This power was unfathomable, but it wasn't like the power of the Maiden; this magic was raw, and primal, unlike anything Cinder had seen before. It was so overwhelming, Cinder found herself having to let to go. It was then, that Pyrrha did something Cinder did not see coming: she suddenly reverted back to her human form, causing the two to plummet to the ground.

As they wrestled in mid air, Cinder manifested a dagger, which got caught in Pyrrha's hand, cutting it, but not doing any real damage. The warrior then head butted her opponent, stunning her, and allowing Pyrrha to wrestle over to on top of her.

"You lose," Pyrrha said, before she kicked down, sending the Maiden plummeting down as she turned back into a dragon. Cinder was so shocked, she couldn't cry out, as she plummeted into the darkness beneath them. Pyrrha watched as she remained in the air, exhaling some steam, glad to finally have this be over.

 **(beneath Haven)**

Raven wasn't having an easy time, but she expected as much, and certainly wasn't going to give up because of that.

She leapt out of the way of Yang's fire, before she turned into a bird, and flew up. Yang snapped her jaws at her, but missed completely. Raven then turned back to normal, as she dove down at Yang, who flew up at her. She snapped her jaws at Raven again, who activated her Maiden powers, and twisted out of the way. As Yang turned, Raven actually ran down her coils, all the way down to her tail. Yang swept around, jaws once again opened, only for Raven to hold up her hand, and in a flash of red light, froze Yang's face.

Confused and disoriented, Yang flailed through the air, throwing Raven off, who turned back into a bird. She managed to nimbly avoid the writhing coils and baring claws of the serpentine dragon. While the ice didn't last long against Yang's fire breath, it gave her enough pause for Raven to return to human form, and thrust Omen forward, right under Yang's remaining arm. Yang roared in pain, as she dove down, deep into the waters that lay beneath the shrine. Raven held her breath as best she could, as she held onto the sword, still in Yang's shoulder. Yang swam through the water, trying to shake Raven off, but when that didn't work, she burst out of the water, and at that, Raven yanked her sword out.

As she fell to the ground, she used her powers to boost herself up, and she created several large icicles, and launched them all at Yang, whose fire melted them all. But Raven then came up through the steam in bird form, her sword pointed at Yang's face. The dragon leaned out of the way. Raven's sword grazed right under Yang's eye, leaving a gash. But Raven's victory was short lived, as Yang's tail came up, and wrapped around her. Before Raven could even register what was happening, Yang threw her right into the ground.

Raven tried to get back up, only to find herself pinned under Yang's metallic claw. Noticing Omen lying some distance away, Raven looked up at the glowing lilac eyes of her draconic daughter. Yang opened her mouth, steam leaking from her jaws.

"Do it!" Raven hissed, "You know you want to!" But Yang was silent, as she continued to stare down at the woman who birthed her.

" **Was it worth it?"** she asked softly.

"What?" Raven answered, not at all expecting that kind question.

" **You and it all,"** Yang continued **, "Friends, a family, everything. But you ran away from it all, all because you were scared."**

"I did the smart thing," Raven answered after a moment, "We can't beat Salem. The most we can do is stay out of her way. If Qrow and Tai had realized that too." She then trailed off, as she averted her eyes.

"If Summer…" Yang tensed at the mention of her real mother, as she growled slightly. But this time, Raven wasn't intimidated.

"I don't enjoy doing stuff like this," Raven said, "But…"

" **Why is that people seem to think what they're doing is acceptable so long as they don't like it?"** Yang interrupted **, "You could've done more, but you chose not to. Because you were afraid."** Raven.

"You did well, Yang," was all she said, and with that she froze one of Yang's toes. Instinctively, Yang reared back, allowing Raven to slip out, and fly away as a bird. This time, Yang didn't bother to chase her, as she watched the bird fly away into the darkness. She then turned her attention to the open shrine, as she shifted back into her human form. After a moment's hesitation, she stepped into the shrine.

She wasn't sure how it was possible, but entering the room was like entering a new world; she was suddenly in an almost ethereal looking desert. She slowly approached a small pedestal, atop which floated what looked like a golden lamp, that glowed blue. After a moment, Yang picked it up; it was strangely warm in it's nature, and Yang felt… something about it, something she couldn't explain.

As she stared at the item, her legs suddenly began to feel weak, as Yang then fell to her knees, taking a deep breath. She had defeated Raven, and claimed the Relic. So why didn't it feel like a victory?

 **(in Haven)**

Even though Hazel was now outnumbered, four to one (what with Lionheart fleeing), he was showing no signs of giving up. According to Oz, his Semblance nullified any pain he might have had, allowing him to enhance his attacks Dust. They would've turned into dragons, but Hazel wasn't giving the time to clear their heads and transform.

Oz jabbed out with Long Memory, and managed to put several strikes in his body, but it didn't do enough to make Hazel slow down, as he punched him into the wall. Ruby brought down her scythe on Hazel, only for the large man to grab it, before grabbing her by the collar, and throwing her into the wall on the other side of the room. Ren was quick to follow up with StormFlower, slashed at Hazel, but he absorbed the blows, before grabbing Ren's neck, and hurling him into Ruby. Right then, Nora leapt at him, bringing Maghild down on him. Hazel, however, easily evaded, as he grabbed Nora by the head, and slammed her into the ground. He then began drilling electricity into her head, as the young woman cried out.

"How many more Ozpin?!" Hazel bellowed, "How many more children have to die for your cause?!" Oz just weakly smiled at him, knowing what was coming next. That confused Hazel, but then he felt a small hand on his arm. And just like Weiss, Nora's scream gradually changed into a roar, as a massive flash of pink light send Hazel tumbling away.

Hazel quickly leapt to his feet, as he looked up to see yet another dragon emerging from the light, it's piercing eyes straight on him. Baffled at the sight, he didn't have time to react as Nora swung her tail at him, catching Hazel in his gut, and sending him careening out of the Academy doors.

As things would have it, Adam and his cronies had converged in front of the Academy after setting the bombs. They looked up to see Hazel pulling himself off the ground.

"Hazel?" Adam asked, "What's…" He didn't answer, as the doors burst open, as Nora emerged, still a dragon.

"By the Spirits!" one of the White Fang with him said. Nora growled as she advanced on Hazel, fire leaking from her jaws, and electricity crackling down her spine.

"What the hell's going on?" Adam demanded.

"Nothing of your concern," Hazel answered as he got back up, sticking himself with two gravity Dust crystals, and leapt at Nora. He then slammed a gravity enhanced fist into her jaw, and with the sheer force she was knocked to the ground, as a few of her teeth were dislodged. She was left sprawled to the ground, as Hazel leapt onto her head, and looked to continue punching, only for, seemingly out of nowhere, a long green dragon to slam into Hazel, sending him tumbling him away. As Hazel pulled himself back to his feet, Ren positioned himself protectively over Nora, bearing his teeth. Ruby then burst through the roof, as she dove at Hazel, who managed to leap out of the way just in time. Hazel, refusing to give up like this, charged them again, as the White Fang watched.

"Adam," one said, "what do we…"

"It doesn't matter!" Adam snapped, though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than the others, "We can still win."

"But… those are dragons!" Adam looked over to see Hazel trying in vain to fight three dragons with his bare fists.

"It doesn't matter!" he said, "We can still bring down Haven!" He drew Wilt, as he grinned in anticipation.

"Let's kill us some…"

"Adam!" The bull froze, as he glanced up. Standing on the roof was a very familiar, feline face...

"Blake," he growled, "So after all the time I spent chasing, you're the one who…."

"You can't win," Blake interrupted as she dropped to his level, slowly advancing on him, "Just give it up?"

"Give it up?" Adam echoed, "Last I checked…"

"Last _I_ checked," Blake interrupted again, "you're not the one with dragons. You and your followers, you're alone."

" _I'm_ the one who's alone?" Adam answered, gesturing to his allies, but none of them looked as enthusiastic as earlier. Blake was silent for a time, before she looked into the mist. Adam followed her gaze, as he saw the last thing he would've expected. Dozens, if not hundreds of normal Faunus, armed with makeshift weapons were emerging from the shadows. Normally he'd be glad to see such a thing, but anyone could tell these weren't on his side. At the lead was Sienna.

"Sienna," Adam growled.

"You should've pressed your attack," Sienna said, as she held Cerberus Whip at the ready, glaring at her usurper. His allies stared in shock at the sight of their family and friends standing in front of them, ready to fight. Their grips on their weapons began to loosen slightly then.

"You could've brought ten thousand 'fighters'," Adam said as he pulled out what looked like a detonator, "But you're too late." He then pressed the button and…. nothing happened.

"Huh?" Adam said, looking a the senator in shock.

"It won't work." Adam turned to see Ilia dropping her camouflage as she emerged from the shadows.

"Ilia?" Adam asked in surprise, "You?"

"Yes, me," Ilia declared, pointing Lightning Lash, at him, "I won't let you turn the Faunus into monsters." Adam open his mouth, though know words came out. He then turned to see Hazel being grabbed by Nora, and brought up to her snout. Hazel just roared angrily at her, only for Nora to open her mouth, and release her own roar, so loud it caused Hazel to pass out. With that, Nora thew Hazel back into Haven. The doors then exploded out, as a yellow dragon soared through the air, before floating in the air over the assembly. From the sky descended the two headed dragon, before it split back into Weiss and Jaune. The two landed on the roof, as Ruby fluttered up to be by Jaune's side. She nuzzled him slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Weiss, who frowned slightly. Pyrrha also landed, coiling up on the ground, rearing up like a cobra.

As seven dragons loomed over all those present, and their own friends and family staring them down, ready to fight, the White Fang saw the writing on the wall, and they all lay down their weapons. Adam tried to talk more, but again, found himself unable to form the words.

"You've lost Adam," Blake said.

"No…," Adam muttered, as he threw the detonator away, as he held Wilt at the ready, "I can still do this! I…" He couldn't finish as Sun dropped up form above him, spinning his weapon in staff form. Caught completely off guard, Adam. Adam had only had a brief moment to look up as Yang dove at him, her jaws open. He managed to leap out of the way, only for Yang's tail to come up, and crash into him. Adam was knocked into the shadows, and off the cliff. Yang growled as she looked to keep chasing him. However, as she went into chase him, she dove to the ground, but didn't find him anywhere.

" **He's gone!"** she said, flying back up to their level.

"Don't bother chasing him," Blake said, "If there's one thing he's good it, ti's getting away from people." Yang growled, as she flexed her metallic claw, but didn't say anything else.

" **Did we… win?"** Nora asked.

" **Yeah,"** Jaune answered **, "I think we did."** The people would've been cheering, but the sight of the dragons in front of them, seven in total, including the ones who had appeared in Beacon. The sight of these magnificent creatures took their breath away.

" **Jaune."** Jaune looked towards his white scaled friend.

" **Did we…. really just do that?"** Weiss asked.

" **I'm not sure how, but yeah, we did,"** the golden dragon said. Then, to his surprise, Weiss rubbed her neck against his. Upon seeing that, Ruby pouted slightly, not entirely thrilled to see her friend do that to her crush. The rose dragon's memory suddenly surged, and her attention was then suddenly drawn towards the palace.

" **Lin…,"** she murmured, before she took wing.

 **(in the building)**

Emerald groaned as she slowly leaned up, still only semi conscious Looking around, she saw Hazel and Mercury also in the room with her, and also seriously beat up. She tried to stand up, but quickly collapsed back to her feet. To weak to move, she didn't know what to do…

That was when, in her delirious state, she saw what looked like a strange red mist leaking into the room. The mist surrounded her, lifting her up slightly.

" _You still have much left to do…."_ And with that, it all went black…

 **(in the Imperial Palace)**

Rowan collapsed in exhaustion, as his Aura faded. His comrades weren't in any better condition, with both Cherry and Roy collapsed. Carmine and Cornell, however, were both still standing, but weren't in any better condition. Lin then got up, and ran over to her last remaining warrior.

"Rowan!" she said, putting her hands on his shoulders. Rowan just looked up at his charge and smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he said, "I wish I was stronger."

"No," Lin said, as her eyes started getting misty, "You're the strongest man I've ever known."

"I… I failed you," Rowan then forced out. At that, Lin burst into tears.

"No!" she cried, throwing her arms around Rowan's neck, "You didn't fail!" Carmine just scowled, as she weakly limped in their direction.

"Let's end this," she said, as she held up her clawed boot. She wasn't bothering with last words this time. However, she still wasn't fast enough, as the wall exploded, knocking her away. Looking up, she saw what had just appeared in the room, and what she saw terrified her.

It was a massive red dragon with wings covered in flower petals, with thorny vines coming out of its back. The Guard didn't have time to react, as the dragon's tail lashed out. All of the remaining guard were caught in her lashing tail, and swept right out of the room. The four could only scream, as they plummeted down the mountain into the city. Lin and Rowan could only stare and try to process what had just happened, as the dragon looked at them.

"Thank you," Lin said after she finally found her words. The dragon just smiled at Lin, before it opened its wings, and flew back out the way it came. After the initial shock finally faded, Lin looked to Rowan, and hugged him again, which her guardian eagerly returned.

 **(in the headmaster's office)**

Leonardo Lionheart was dead, killed by Salem, if the markings around his throat were any indication, and the fading remains of a Seer. Oz stared down at the body of the Faunus he once counted as one of his closest friends.

" _I'm sorry,"_ Oscar said.

"There's nothing for you to apologize for," Oz answered, "I can only wonder what Salem had on him, and how long he was under her thumb."

" _Well, we won,"_ Oscar said _, "That's good, right?"_ Oz sighed, before he smiled slightly, and let Oscar take back over.

" _Yes,"_ he said _, "I suppose it is."_

 **(in Haven)**

"Well, you took your sweet time."

"I can't help it if it's more than a week journey form Menagerie to Mistral."

"I'm just glad Blakey's back!"

Teams RYPJ and BRWN were finally all together, and despite the barbs they were trading, they'd never been happier to be together again. Shade was standing off the side, watching his students be together again. He had been watching the whole battle in silence. This was possibly the greatest test they'd yet had; and they had passed with more than just flying colors. And now, they had mastered the powers he bestowed upon them. What Jaune and Weiss did though…. That he had not anticipated. That would need some investigation…

"You should've seen Jaune," Weiss said, "Fighting on my back while I was flying around like that. I'd like to see any other man do that."

"Ren could do it!" Nora insisted.

"It really wasn't that much," Jaune responded, "Weiss did the hard work." Ruby looked away slightly, as she considered how much Jaune and Weiss had been able to do together. She wanted to be the first dragon Jaune would ride. She then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," Jaune said, "I'm glad you're okay." Ruby returned the smile, before she suddenly embraced him.

"You too," she said.

"Group hug!" Nora said. No one, not even the more hesitant ones like Blake and Ren, hesitated to get in on what was now an eight person embrace. Shade just smiled as the sight as he folded his arms behind his back.

"Get over here, Doc!" Yang said, gesturing.

"I believe that this may be better suited between…" The doctor couldn't finish, as a vine emerged form under Ruby's cape, and pulled him forward, and into the hug. Though he towered over all them, making it look somewhat strange, Shade couldn't help but smile, as he put a hand on Jaune's back.

"You have all done magnificently," he said, "I could not have chosen better champions." That just made the hug tighten.

 **(beneath the Imperial Palace)**

In the shadow of the Imperial Palace, at the bottom of the mountain lay the mangled bodies of the Imperial Guard. A single hand, however, remained clinging to a rock far above, as a figure with feathers, slowly pulled themselves back up…

 **(in the Land of Darkness)**

Salem stood on a massive crystal, overlooking the many Grimm as they pulled themselves from the pools. She remembered when she first came to this place to ask the God of Darkness' favor. Of all the things that had changed in the ages past, this was one of the things that never did.

" _Truly a shame. Such high hopes…"_ Salem didn't bother to divert her gaze, as a red sliver of light slithered around her, followed by a silver one, and an orange one.

"Don't come if you don't have anything useful to say," she said coldly. There were three sinister sounding laughs, two male, one female, coming from the lights.

" _That makes a second relic that's slipped through your fingers,"_ a female voice said from the orange light.

" _We'll now be taking a more… hands on approach from here on out,"_ the silver light said with a masculine voice. At that, Salem actually glared at the light, which floated beside her face.

"We had an agreement," she hissed.

" _Patience, child,"_ the red light said _, "You will have what you want. But your efforts may prove inadequate."_ Salem's eyes narrowed at that.

"Once the Relic of Destruction is in my hands, I will render Atlas and Mistral to rubble," she said.

 _"We have relied on your schedule for some time now,"_ the red light said _, "If we keep relying on that, and that alone..."_

" _We thought you'd be glad for us to be proactive,"_ the silver light hissed again. Salem's scowl just deepened, but she didn't say anything else.

" _You worry too much,"_ the orange one said _, "Just leave it all to us."_

" _That_ , I can't do," Salem responded bluntly. She got no response, this time, as the lights floated away from her. She then reached into her dress, and pulled out a small, stuffed dog. It was aged and worn, but still in functional condition. Salem caressed it, before holding it close.

"Soon," she muttered to herself, "Soon…"

 **Note: So Cinder, I guess draining magic granted to someone by an aged and weakened wizard, isn't the same as draining magic that came straight from the source. You'd remember that Ruby has the ability sprout vines from her body as a dragon as well. Speaking of Ruby, she certainly didn't get much to her own name in this fight, but she didn't really have much to do in this fight; I didn't like reducing her role like this, but at least she got to save her friend. I'll try and give her more next volume.**

 **Menagerie was the first thing I planned out. I wanted to give my own origin for the Faunus, and after I settled on the Spirits as antagonists, I decided to link the two, and make the Spirits the creators of the Faunus. After that, I explored the broader history of the Faunus, and came to think it'd be interesting if in their history, the Faunus were at one point the oppressors instead of the oppressed. It would've given the Faunus characters, including Blake, a lot to think about. Originally Talos was supposed to be the OC villain there while Bai was the one trying to assassinate Lin. But it became apparent that a Faunus like Bai would fit that much better than someone like Talos. Slate came from an idea to have a tertiary antagonist in the arc, but his tale is not yet complete actually, in what way I won't say.**

 **Going into Mistral, the decision to make it a monarchy instead of a council is based on a desire to expand on the world building and setting of the story. Originally Lin was going to be the princess instead of the Empress, with her grandfather as Emperor, but as I developed her friendship with Ruby, I thought there was more to be said if she were Empress herself. The Imperial Guard were originally just conceived as the Mistrali equivalent of the Ace Ops (and a desire to do some dinosaur themed characters) but then I thought, what if they were villains? This went further when I swapped Talos and Bai's places in the story, and they became the ones who would try to kill Lin. This in turn brought more focus to Rowan, as I wanted him to be the only one to remain loyal to Lin, and I had to develop his backstory a little further. This didn't really end up coming up in the story as much as I may have wanted, but I actually envisioned Rowan as being gay, and loving Lin's father; it gives him an extra layer of loyalty to her, as she's the daughter of the man he loved, a piece of him lives on through her.**

 **In terms of shipping, I'm sure you've noticed that between the time Jaune as spent with both Ruby and Weiss, it can go either way. Again, I have made a decision on what direction to go, but I'll let you wait and see. There's going to be broader consequences to Weiss and Jaune merging into one dragon, but again, you'll have to wait and see. I also imagined people noticed Yang and Pyrrha developing a certain dynamic between the two of them. I'll go into this later in the story, but be assured I don't go in directions like these if I don't think there's a story to tell. I'm pretty sure RT was planning on doing Bumblebee at one point, but the shippers got impatient, and pushed them to do it faster.**

 **Be sure to review. We're going into Vol. 6, which means a lot is likely going to happen.**


	66. Battle of the Train

_**Battle of the Train**_

" _The idiocy of that girl!"_

" _And to think we had such high hopes for her."_

" _It is apparent we cannot rely on Salem alone anymore. We will have to act ourselves."_

" _We cannot awaken them ourselves, you know that."_

" _We do not need to. All we need to do is set things in motion, which is easy enough. We can start in Atlas."_

" _What of the mortals that have been touched by the Younger?"_

" _I… do not yet know."_

" _We must do something soon. Surely the Younger has told them about us now."_

" _Be patient. We must do this in an…. orderly fashion."_

" _And what of our sister?"_

" _She…. won't be an issue."_

 **(in Mistral)**

"You sure you have to go?" Lin asked.

"Yeah, we have to get the Relic to Atlas," Ruby answered, "Probably the only place it'll really be safe." She and Lin were in the Mistral train station, awaiting a train that was going to take them to the city of Argus in the North, where they hoped to get a lift to Atlas. As the two girls were talking, Rowan was standing behind them, bandaged, and with one arm in a sling, but still dutifully standing behind his liege, while a squadron of Mistrali soldiers stood behind him.

"Are you going to be safe here?" Ruby asked, "I mean, you've only got one guard."

"That Sienna Khan has volunteered," Rowan answered, "She and a number of other Faunus, actually." Ruby had heard that as well; the Faunus coming to challenge the White Fang had had quite an impact on the Mistrali people. And now a number of those Faunus, including Blake's aunt, had volunteered to help with Lin's safety, until a more formal guard was installed.

"And as long as I have Rowan, I think I'll be fine," Lin said with a smile. Rowan returned the smile, as he nodded at his charge.

"Anyway, promise me you'll stay in touch?" Lin asked, looking back at her friend, to which Ruby nodded enthusiastically. Then to her surprise, Lin then gave her a hug.

"Thank you," she said," For everything." Ruby eventually returned the hug.

"I'm just glad I could help," she answered, smiling gently. As the two said their goodbyes, Sun and Blake were up at the balcony doing the same. Sun had decided to head back to Vacuo, to, in his own words, get his head on straight. Blake really couldn't blame him, considering the things he had learned in the past couple months. If she was being completely honest, Blake was going to miss him; she'd grown…. used to him.

"Don't worry, Sun said, when she expressed those fears, as he pumped his fist slightly, "I'm thinking you haven't seen the last of me!" Blake just smiled gently at that, before his surprise, she kissed him on the cheek.

"See you soon," she whispered into his ear.

"You… you too," Sun stuttered, as he put his hand on his cheek in surprise.

As he was taking his leave, Blake turned around to look at Ilia, who had standing further back to avoid intruding on their conversation. Blake smiled as she approached her.

"So, what're you going to do now?" she asked.

"I… I don't know," Ilia answered. She had considered going with Sienna and volunteering for the guard, but didn't think that line of work would really suit her. She had considered going back to Menagerie to help Blake's parents in the new White Fang, but somehow that didn't seem right.

"You could come with us." That offer surprised the chameleon somewhat. She didn't think any of them would want her in their group, least of all the Schnee. She glanced down at RYPJ and BRWN, who were waiting for their train down there.

"I… I…," Ilia said slowly. Having a feeling that she needed a moment to think, Blake took a breath.

"Well, we're going to be leaving in about an hour," she said, with a slight shrug, "You know here to find us." With that, she headed back down to rejoin her team, leaving Ilia to mull on her words. Sighing, she stared at the ceiling, considering it all. Was there really a reason she couldn't go with them? It wasn't like the Belladonnas weren't able to do it themselves. It also wasn't like Ilia didn't want to get out and see the world; granted, she wasn't thrilled by the prospect of potentially going back to Atlas after so long.

"You seek to redeem yourself, yes?" Ilia visibly flinched in surprise as she noticed Shade leaning on the railing.

"Can you please not do that?" she asked, taking a breath to calm herself.

"You will not find redemption or atonement if you do not seek it out," Shade said, "Ms. Khan understands this, and she is acting appropriately to that end. You, on the other hand, are simply sitting here, hoping it finds you."

"So… what do I do?" Ilia asked.

"I cannot tell you," Shade answered, as he floated off the ground, "It is your choice." With that, he floated down to where his students were. Ilia wanted to call for him, but found she couldn't. She then looked down, then at her hand, before she clenched her fists.

"Blake!" The cat paused, as she looked over her shoulder to see the chameleon coming up behind her.

"On second thought," Ilia said, "You sure they wouldn't mind?" Blake was further surprised by that, but then smiled.

 **(with the rest of the group)**

If he was being honest, Jaune was't thrilled by the prospect of going to Argus. That was where Saphron lived, and he knew that it was also where his mom had decided to throw their reunion in Argus that year. Now, it wasn't that he didn't want to see his family, but… It would be hard to leave again after seeing them, especially knowing what they had to do. He was staring at his scroll, at his dad's number. Looking around at his team, he saw Pyrrha with her leg in her lap, polishing it slightly, while Yang sat further down the bench, inspecting her arm for defaults. Nora had taken to calling them "Team Metal". Speaking of her, she was trying got sell Ren on an "I love Mistral" shirt, though he didn't seem that interested in it. Shade was standing by the cafe, apparently ordering something. Oscar was sitting the side, talking to himself, though presumably to Oz, while Qrow was getting their tickets. On Oscar's belt was the Relic of Knowledge.

Oz had told them what the Relic could do. Every one hundred years, one could use the Relic to ask literally any question, save for questions about the future. Apparently, Oz had spread the tale amongst his followers that the questions had all already been used. Jaune supposed that made sense; if people thought the Relic wasn't of any use, they'd be less tempted to seek it out for themselves.

"Watcha doing?" Ruby asked, as she suddenly sat beside him. Jaune blinked at his partner's sudden appearance.

"Nothing, I guess," Jaune said, as he put his scroll back in his pocket, "Just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"You'll see." Ruby pouted at that, as she weakly shoved him.

"You sound like a grownup," she griped. Technically, everyone there save Ruby and Oscar _were_ grownups, but he decided not to say that.

"I'm just glad to be getting out of Mistral," Jaune said, "It's been nothing but trouble since we got here."

"Come on," Ruby said, "It wasn't that bad. You unlocked Semblance, after all." That was right, Jaune,a after so long, finally had his Semblance. Turns out, using his Aura, he could enhance and empower the Auras of other people. He wasn't sure how that allowed him to literally merge with Weiss as dragons, though.

"I guess that's me, huh?" Jaune said, "I'm the support guy."

"Don't sell yourself short," Weiss said, as she approached them from the side, and sat alongside him, "What you did may have saved my life up there." Ruby pouted a little more at that. She wanted to be the one to give Jaune the pep talk on that.

"She is correct," Shade answered, as he came up to the group, holding a paper cup in his hand, "Your Semblance may prove indispensable at some point." Jaune was somewhat encouraged by that.

"By the way," Ruby said, leaning forward, "I've been wondering…"

"I am not sure how Mr. Arc and Ms. Schnee did what they did," Shade admitted, as he sipped his drink, anticipating Ruby's question, "It is something I will have to study as the time goes on."

"So… could I maybe…. do it?" Ruby asked slowly.

"I cannot think of any reason why you would not," Shade answered, swirling his drink slightly. That encouraged Ruby somewhat, as she scooted a little close to Jaune.

"I'm back," Blake said, as she came up and everyone glanced over.

"Yay!" Nora said, "Blakey's back!" Blake would've been annoyed by that nickname, but found herself smiling instead; it was good to be back.

"And I have someone with me," she said, as she stepped aside, revealing Ilia standing behind her, her hands clenched in front of her, and her eyes on the ground.

"Ilia, right?" Yang asked, as she stood up.

"Um… hello," Ilia said, as she briefly turned purple, as she tried to look up at them.

"She's joining the team," Blake announced. That surprised the group slightly, before Oscar, or more accurately, Oz at this point, rose to his feet.

"Excellent," he declared, "This day and age, we could use all the new friends we can get."

"'Friend'?" Ilia echoed, surprised to already be being called that.

"Welcome to the team, Illy!" Nora said, swinging her arm around Ilia's shoulder.

"Illy?" Ilia echoed, not sure how she felt about that name, or a human wrapping an around her.

 **(later, on the train)**

Once they had boarded their train, it was a six hour train ride to Argus. RYPJ was passing their time in their train compartment, with Yang reading a magazine while Pyrrha was doing some maintenance on Milo. Jaune and Ruby were on the scrolls, playing a fighting game with each other. BRWN was further down in their own compartment, where Ilia was as well. They had no idea where Shade was (they hadn't even seen him get on the train) but figured he'd do what he always would do, and appear when he wanted to.

"You can't beat me, Jaune Arc!" Ruby declared, as she stared at her Scroll in concentration.

"That's what you think, Ruby Rose!" Jaune said back, as he mashed the buttons on his own.

"You know, it's just a game," Pyrrha said, looking up from her weapon.

"Not when Ruby's the one playing it, it's not," Yang said, as she turned a page in her magazine. The partner's kept playing, until finally, Ruby beat him.

"That's what I'm talking 'bout!" Ruby said, pumping her fists. Jaune laughed slightly, before taking a breath and wiping his brow.

"Man, after that I need to get something to drink. If you need me, I'll be in the dining car." He then left their compartment, as Ruby smiled after him. That didn't go unnoticed by her sister, who smiled and shook her head slightly, as she went back to her magazine. Not long after, the door opened, and Weiss poked her head in.

"Pardon me," she said.

"What's up, Weissicle?" Yang asked, "What brings you to our territory?"

"Well, I've been Nora's partner long enough to know when she needs her time with her Ren, and anyone could tell Ilia's uncomfortable around me," Weiss explained, "So I thought I'd go see where Jaune was." Upon hearing her partner's name, Ruby hoped her flinch wasn't too visible.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, "Well, he said he was going to go to the dining car."

"Alright, thank you," Weiss said, as she started walking back down the hall. Ruby's brow furrowed, before she made a decision, jumping to her feet, and hurrying after her.

"Weiss!" Ruby called, as she came up to her, "What're you doing?"

"I'm just looking for Jaune," Weiss answered, as she stopped.

"Why're are you looking for him" Ruby pressed. At first, Weiss was going to simply dismiss her, but figured that after all they'd been through, and the fact that Jaune was Ruby's partner, and decided to change her perspective on that.

"You're his partner," she said, "You should probably know." She then looked around, and brought Ruby into an unoccupied train compartment.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, though she had a good idea what it was. Weiss then took a deep breath.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," she said, "But…. I… I think I've developed feelings for him." Ruby's heart sunk to the floor upon hearing that.

"When did you…," she asked slowly.

"If I'm being completely honest, I first started feeling something after he took me to the dance, and I got a real sense for his character," Weiss explained, "Then, after being separated so long, after we started training together, I began to feel something real." She then trailed off slightly, as she got a far away look in her eyes.

"But then the two of us literally became one, and I saw so much more about him. I couldn't help it." Ruby involuntarily clenched her fists, as she glared at the ground. She knew it wasn't fair to expect Jaune to be all for herself, but that still didn't mean she was happy to know she had a rival for Jaune's affection.

"I understand why that might surprise you, being his partner and all," Weiss said, "But rest assured, I full intend…"

"But…," Ruby said, " _I_ like him!" Weiss blinked in surprise at that. She made an "o" with her mouth before sighing and pinching herself between the eyes.

"Well this is quite the conundrum then," she said. While she understood that Ruby was Jaune's partner, and had known him much longer than Weiss did, that didn't mean the Schnee was going to give up. She liked Jaune too, and was intent on acting on it.

"So… what do we do?" Ruby asked. While she liked Jaune, and wanted to be with him, she didn't want to destroy her friendship with Weiss.

"If we allow this kind of rivalry to simmer," Weiss said, "we'll be lugging it around the whole the journey, and the group as a whole will suffer for it." Ruby opened then closed her mouth, knowing Weiss was right.

"I say we just confess to him, both of us," Weiss continued, "After that, it'll be in his hands now." Ruby frowned slightly; she didn't want to put that kind of pressure and the man she cared about. But maybe this was the best way to put this issue to rest as soon as possible. As if sent by Darkness himself, Jaune strolled by, with a bag of chips in his hand. The girls exchanged a look, before they both stepped out of their compartment

"Jaune!" both called. Jaune glanced over his shoulder.

"Oh, hey," he said, "What's up?"

"Ruby and I have something to tell you," Weiss said, as she stepped forward, "We're not expecting any kind of response now, but we feel if we don't do it now, it may become a problem." Jaune looked between the two, somewhat confused.

"What is it?" he asked. The girls exchanged another look, before they both took breaths. _Here goes nothing_ they both thought at the same time.

"Jaune, I…." Once again, Ruby was interrupted as the train was suddenly rocked.

"I am afraid this matter will have to wait," Shade said, as he materialized out of the compartment Ruby and Weiss were just in.

"Were you spying on us?" Weiss asked. Shade naturally didn't answer. Instead he flicked his wrist, pushing his students down the hall.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" Ruby grumbled, not happy to have her second confession of attempt be interrupted.

By the time Jaune, Weiss, and Ruby finally got out of the train, they saw what the problem was. Descending from the sky was a pack of Manticore, winged, lion-like Grimm that had scorpion tails. At the lead of them was another, much larger Grimm. It had a leonine body, but also had a broad of wings, and a literal snake for a tail. But the most creepy factor was the fact that it had a vaguely human like face. They all recognized it as a Sphinx.

They, to some degree, expected this. Oz had told them that the Relic gives off a very faint force that attracted the Grimm to it. He said he didn't think it'd be an issue, because it was so faint, so long as the group stayed positive. Of course, that would be much harder, as the Grimm bore down on the train. Most of their team, along with Qrow, Oscar, and Ilia were already on the roof, trying to fight them off. Amongst them, Nora had already assumed her dragon form, and was trying to pick the Manticores out of the air.

"I'll go help Nora!" Jaune said, before he assumed his own dragon form, and flew up, incinerating another Manticore as he did **, "You guys help the others."** Not needing to be told twice, Weiss used her glyphs to launch her forward, but to his surprise, Ruby used her own Semblance to get on Jaune's back.

" **Ruby?"**

"I'll watch your back!" Ruby said, as she sniped a Manticore coming at him. While Jaune joined Nora in the fight in the sky, the rest of the group kept the fight in the train. As she dashed over, Weiss thrust Myrtenaster into a Manticore's throat, slaying it instantly. One came up behind her, which Blake caught by the throat with the end of Gambol Shroud, catching it off foot. This allowed Pyrrha to leap over, and thrust Milo into it's forehead, slaying it in the process.

"You can thank me later!" Yang said, with a wink. Pyrrha then suddenly fired a shot. It whizzed past Yang, who turned to see a manticore stumbling back. It was quickly dispatched by Qrow, who struck off its head with a single swing of Harbinger.

"I'd say we're even, right?" Pyrrha said, with her own wink. Yang just chuckled, as she leapt back into the fight. She knocked aside another Grimm, and punched one in the jaw. Unfortunately, another was quickly on top of her, only for it to stop when Ilia swung Lightning Lash at it. Electricity coursed through it's body, stunning it enough for Yang to deliver an uppercut with enough force to kill it.

"Thanks!" Yang said, to which Ilia just nodded.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, the Sphinx had decided to try and take the dragons on. It was roughly the same size as Jaune and Nora, allowing it slam into Nora's side, knocking her around slightly. It sank its teeth into Nora's neck, but fortunately the worst of the attack was deflected by her scales. The dragon and the Grimm wrestled around in the air for a time. Noticing that, Jaune veered off to back her up. As he did, Ruby glanced up at the sky, to see a shape coming down through the snow.

"Incoming!" she called. Jaune only had time to look up briefly, as another, massive Grimm slammed into him. Ruby had to hold onto Jaune by the frill around his head, but managed to stay on his back, as he tumbled through the air. Jaune managed to shove the Grimm off, and get it a good luck. It resembled a giant bird like a Nevermore, but looked more like a bird of prey than a raven, not to mention it's neck was noticeably longer, and it's talons considerably bigger. It was a Thunderbird. The Grimm launched itself at the dragon again, as it raked it's talons across Jaune's stomach. His calls and Aura deflected the attack, but Jaune knew neither would last forever.

Meanwhile, on the train, Ren leapt out of the way of a Manticore's claws, before sticking his gun barrel in its mouth, and firing, blowing it's head off. As another one came at him, Oz suddenly sprung forward, and giving a solid strike over the monster's head, killing it instantly.

" _It's impressive how much power it has behind it,"_ Oscar commented.

"It does," Oz agreed, looking at Long Memory, "But what really matters is hitting it in the right place with the right amount of force. Eventually, you'll get the knack of it." As he said that, several more Manticores flew over them, heading towards the front of the train, where most of the civilians had gathered.

 _Jaune!_ Ruby "said" _Look!_

" **I see it,"** Jaune answered out loud, as he kicked the Grimm off, and communicating _If those things get to the people…_

 _I'm on it!_ Weiss answered, as she sheathed Myrtenaster. She then let herself fall off the train, as her body vanished into a brilliant white glow, which her dragon formed emerged out of. Swooping back up, she flash froze a Manticore coming at her, before flying towards the front. As she did, Ilia watched.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," she muttered. But she couldn't dwell on those thoughts, as a Manticore came at her. She managed to dodge it's claws, and she swung Lighting Lash it, stunning it again, allowing Blake to come up, and strike it down.

At the same time, Nora finally managed to get the upper hand over the Sphinx. With a growl, the electricity crackled down her spine, as she let loose a massive discharge. The electricity struck down several Manticore, and threw the Sphinx off her. Nora then released the full force of her fire, which consumed the Grimm, obliterating it in the process.

During this, Jaune continued to wrestle with the Thunderbird. Jaune tried to kick it off, before he breathed his fire. Unfortunately, the beast easily avoided the attack, before it slammed back into the dragon, and continued to claw at him, but with relatively little luck, until Ruby….

"Claws off my man!" she all but blurted out. She then put a well placed shot, right in the Thunderbird's eye. It instinctively recoiled back, and in it's confusion, Jaune was able to kick it off. He then inhaled deeply, and released his fire, reducing the Grimm to ash.

Meanwhile, Weiss reached the front of the train, outflying the Grimm using her Glyphs on her wings. With a single exhale, she flash froze another several Manticore, as she flew pas the windows. The people of the train looked out in awe of the dragons that were protecting them from the Grimm, while Darkness himself watched in silence, hidden from their view. Floating through the ceiling, he considering their negativity perhaps wouldn't be an issue, as the people would be encouraged by the sight of the dragons that were protecting them. But it wouldn't really matter, considering how the Relic would continue to attract his creations until they didn't have it anymore. It was then that he got an idea.

" **Attention, all of you,"** he communicated to his students and their friends **, "I will be separating the cargo section you are on from the passenger section."**

"What?" Ilia, Oscar, and Qrow squawked. The rest of the team weren't thrilled by that idea, but figured their teacher wouldn't be suggesting something if it wasn't the best solution.

" **You know what you're doing right?"** Jaune asked, as he flew over head.

" **Of course,"** Darkness answered, before shifting back to his Shade form. He then held his hands up, palms facing towards the sky. With that, the link that separated the two halves of the train disconnected. The other train sped away, as the Grimm kept their attention on the ones with the Relic, which were quickly mopped up by the students and the dragons. Unfortunately, the speed of the train caused it to rock on the tracks slightly, but Shade simply maintained his stance, as the train went rigid, and floated off the tracks down to the ground..

" **Everyone okay?"** Jaune asked as he landed.

"I think so," Blake said, as she helped Ilia up. Ilia, however, promptly fell face first into the snow.

"Just leave me here for a moment," she grumbled into the snow. She didn't get her wish, as Shade levitated up her as he floated to the ground.

"You are all indeed 'okay'," he said simply, as he landed in front of them, "Now, gather whatever you may have lost, we must keep going as soon as possible." As the group started doing this, Ruby found the Relic in the snow, which she picked up.

"Good, you have it," Qrow said as he came up to her, and when Ruby held it out to him, he held up his hand, "I'd wager it'd be safer with the girl who can turn into a dragon."

"Never freaking fails," Yang grumbled as she tried to pull her motorcycle of the snow, "We always get _this_ close to our dest, and then _something_ happens." Pyrrha came over to help her, only for both to pull too hard, and to slip in the snow, landing on top of each other. Too add a little insult, the motorcycle slipped into the snow as well.

"Can't you just snap your fingers, and get the Grimm to go away?" Ilia asked Shade.

"I cannot intervene beyond the degree I already have," he answered.

"Is that so?" Attention was then drawn to Oz, who had already started walking, but was now looking back at them.

"And what do you call what you've been doing all this time, sticking your claws into the affairs of these children for what reason?"

"What I am doing is no concern of your's, wizard," Shade responded, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Of course," Oz answered, taking a step forward, "It is not our place to question the will of the gods. No matter what they do." That got RYPJ and BRWN to exchange looks, not sure what Oz was talking about.

"He hasn't steered us wrong yet," Jaune piped up.

"Yeah," Ruby added, "He's helped us a lot along the way. We trust him."

"You trust him?" Oz said, as he came closer, "So I take it he's been completely upfront with you on all matters?" Shade's eyes suddenly looked straight on Oz.

"Mind yourself, mortal," he said calmly but cooly. But Oz ignored him.

"I keep my secrets in order to maintain hope, to win a war instead of a single battle," he said, "What does he keep his secret for?"

"Secret?" Ren asked, looking towards Shade.

"Oz…," Qrow muttered.

"Shade?" Jaune asked, as he and the other's all looked at their teacher, "What is he talking about?"

"Nothing that you need concern yourself with," Shade answered, holding up his hand.

"Naturally," Oz answered, "What do the mortals matter in this affair? What does the true history mean to them?"

"True history?" Pyrrha muttered.

" **Be silent!"** Darkness commanded as he suddenly assumed his divine form. Oz narrowed his eyes, as he tightened his hold on Long Memory.

 _"Professor,"_ Oscar said _, "What's going on?"_

"Your teacher is not who you think he is, and if he won't tel you, then I know someone who will," Oz said, before he then looked to Ruby, "Speak her name to summon her."

"'Her'?" Ruby asked, cocking her head.

"Jinn."

" **I said be silent!"** Darkness said, as he thrust his hand out, sending Oz careening away through the snow. He then looked to his students, who were staring at him in shock. He almost sounded… afraid.

"What… what aren't you telling us?" Jaune asked.

" **It is of no matter,"** Darkness answered **, "It is something that happened long in the past, and has little bearing on what you must do now. Now come, we must go before the storm has set in."** He turned to begin walking, but when he looked back, he noticed the mortals weren't following him.

" **Come, I said we have to go,"** he said, gesturing. But again, they did not move, as Ruby stared at the Relic for a time.

" **Ms. Rose…"** Ruby looked at him, before back at the Relic, and she took a breath.

"Jinn," she murmured. Almost immediately, everything froze in mid air, as if time had stopped.

" **No…"**

"What's… what's going on?" Ilia asked out loud. Ruby then let out a soft gasp as the Relic floated out of her hands, and into the air, blue mist leaking from it. The mist then flared up, as it congealed into a blue, feminine figure who had gold shackles around her wrists, neck, and shackles. She had long, dark blue hair, pointed ears, and blue eyes with black sclerae. Those traits sent chills down RNJR's spines; they were eerily similar to the traits Viridios had.

" _Ah!"_ the woman said, as she let out a stretch, before smiling down at them _, "Thirty years can give you such a crick in the neck!"_ She then looked down at the people.

" _I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid mankind in their quest for knowledge,"_ she said, introducing herself, before leaning down _, "Now, what knowledge to you seek?"_ It took some time as the group stared at the being before them in shock.

" _Well, don't you have a question or something?"_ Jinn asked, leaning on her hand, with a calm, knowing smile. She looked at them like she knew who each one of them were, which they supposed she did.

" **You cannot trust this creature."** They looked back to Darkness, who was advancing on Jinn, looking straight at her. The being looked taken aback by the sight of him, before it turned into a glare.

" _Well, if it isn't the_ younger _brother?"_ she said icily. Darkness visibly flinched at that. That surprised the group, Jaune most of all. He'd never seen the god seem this… agitated.

"Why can't we trust her?" Nora asked.

" **Because she is one of the High Spirits."** All eyes went straight to Jinn, to their first true "High Spirit". Only RNJR had actually seen another Spirit, but Viridios was just a "normal" Spirit, compared to what Jinn was. Jinn didn't seem pleased with that revelation, as she sighed.

" _That is correct, I am the High Spirit of Knowledge, created to collect and keep all the knowledge of this world. But rest assured, I am not like my more…. menacing siblings."_ Jinn then looked down at the Faunus, who were staring at her like she was a divine being, which they now knew she was. The Spirit just rolled her eyes.

" _I normally don't do this, but I can see the confusion and wonder in your eyes,"_ she said _, "No, I had no hand in your kind's creation."_ That didn't seem to calm either the cat or the chameleon.

" _Now, do you have a question, or not?"_ Jinn asked, looking towards Ruby. The girl in red stared at her for a time, then at the ground.

" **Ruby."** Everyone froze, as they looked at Darkness; this was the first time he had ever referred to any of them by their first names. He was still, looking straight at them.

" **Please,"** he murmured. Ruby looked at them, then to Jinn. She then took a deep breath, realizing that at this point, they had to know the truth.

"What is the truth?" she then asked.

" **NO!"** Then it all went blank…

The Old Ones: _The Hunter_

 _Matilda couldn't understand why this was happening. Had she done something wrong? Did someone in the village do something wrong? Was that why everything was on fire?_

 _The night had started so normally, with Matilda sitting down to dinner with her parents and big sister. What followed was a blur; all she could make out were black monsters suddenly appearing in the streets, people screaming, and things catching on fire. And all the child could do now was curl up in an alley, her face buried in her knees, as she sobbed._

 _Unfortunately, those sobs attracted an Ursa in her direction. It peered around the corner, as Matilda looked up. She wanted to run, but found herself unable to. It was like she had suddenly turned to stone, as the monster loomed over her. It showed its teeth, as it raised it's paw to end it all. Matilda couldn't even scream._

 _But that was there was a flash of brilliant silver light, so much that Matilda reflexively closed her eyes. When she opened them, the Ursa had been reduced to dust in the wind. The light came from behind her, and when she looked around, she saw a man in a back coat and hood over black pants with red lines, and a button shirt of a similar color scheme._

" _Are you okay?" the man asked, bending down to Matilda's level. Matilda, still in a state of shock, just nodded very weakly. The man nodded as he put a hand on her head and tussled her hair._

" _Just stay here," he said, "I'll be back soon." He then reached behind him, and pulled out his weapon, it was a scythe, with an otherwise simple appearance, save for the blade itself, which had a glowing red edge across it. It's name was very simple: "Grimmbane". He then lowered his hood, as he revealed he had short, spiky, dark red hair with very fair skin. But his most distinguishing feature, were his large, silver eyes. The man then smiled._

" _Let's have some fun," he said. With that, he leapt into the pack of Grimm, striking down a Beowolf in a single strike. A Beringel then came upon him, swing it's fist, only for the man to easily avoid the strike with a duck. He then swung Grimmbane up, creating an arc of fire, the red edge on his scythe being produced by Fire Dust, slaying the beast. A Deathstalker then came upon him, and the man's eyes suddenly flashed again, and when the light faded, the Deathstalker was solid stone._

 _Right then, a King Taijitu came upon him, and the man turned his brilliant gaze towards the serpent, and his eyes flashed again, turning both heads to stone. An Ursa then came at him, swing it's claws, which the man easily dodged. After decapitating the bear, a Beowolf came on him, but the man managed to flip back, catching the Beowolf under the neck, cutting off it's head at well. As he was spinning back down, his eyes flashed again, turning a Nevermore that was coming down at him to stone as well._

 _The Grimm attack was over as soon as it began, as the man wiped his bow, surrounded by stone Grimm, and black smoke. Matilda slowly emerged from the alley, looking around in shock. That was when she heard a voice calling out._

" _Matilda!" She turned to see her family emerging from a building, and running over to her. Her mother threw her arms around her, as her father and sister came up beside her._

" _You saved my daughter," her father said to the man, "Thank you so much."_

" _Meh" the man said, with a huge smile, as he put Grimmbane on his shoulder, "It was nothing, really."_

" _What's your name?"_

" _My name's Jack. Jack Bean."_

" _How are you such a skilled fighter?" Jack just shrugged slightly._

" _Not much," he answered, "I'm just a normal guy, who likes to do good."_

 **Note: Now here it is, the moment of truth for RYPJ and BRWN. Geez, this chapter was way longer than I thought it would be.**

 **I'm going to take this as an opportunity to talk about the romance. Now while I don't think what they did was necessarily a good idea, forcing Jaune to choose between the two of them, I would understand Weiss' reasoning. If the two of them let those emotions simmer and build, it could easily strain their friendship, harming their mission in the process.**

 **Going into Vol. 6, I'm going to say now, I'm not doing Bumblebee. Yang and Blake were never even partners in this continuity, so it wouldn't at all work. Also, I'm promoting Ilia to main character. I feel like she still has some story worth telling, and some redemption that needs seeking. I can now confirm, that I've been entertaining the possibility of doing Greek Fire (Yang x Pyrrha) in the story instead of Bumblebee, but I don't want to fall into the same trap RT did with Bumblebee, where after (seemingly) cracking under fan pressure to get it done, they rushed it out. I'm going to try and do it more naturally as the story progresses.**

 **Be sure to review. How fitting, Vol. 6 begins with chapter 66.**


	67. Of Blame and Rage

_**Of Blame and Rage**_

Cinder wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious, but figured it didn't matter, as she stared at the night sky above her, as the clouds gathered overhead. She suspected that if not for her Maiden powers, she'd probably be dead. Forcing herself to roll over, she tried to glance around. From what she could see, she seemed to be in some sort of lot or clearing. She supposed she was lucky in that respect, better than landing in a house or something.

"By the gods." Cinder glanced over to see, a woman approaching her.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked, kneeling down, before noticing Cinder's Grimm arm. She let out a cry of fear as she leapt back instinctively. Cinder gave her a quick once over; this woman looked about the same size as her….

 **(to the North)**

What was one to do when they were presented with a horrible truth? In this case, the truth about Oz, the truth about Salem, and even the truth about the gods. As the vision faded mortals could only stare at the god before them. Darkness stared them down for a time as well. No one knew what to say.

"So that's it, then?" Jaune asked, as he stepped forward, "That's what you've been hiding from us?" Darkness was silent for a time, before he turned around.

" **What of it?"** he asked.

"'What of it'?!" Yang snapped, "You wiped out all of humanity!"

"You destroyed the moon!" Nora added. The god was silent for a time, as he looked away from them. He had wanted to avoid sharing this fact with.

" **Yes, I did,"** Darkness answered bluntly, as he started to walk away **, "And again, what of it?"**

"Does this not matter to you at all?" Ruby asked, coming forward, "Are we supposed to just let this go?"

" **There is nothing to be done about it now,"** Darkness said, glancing over his shoulder slightly.

"Oh, so I guess that makes it all okay!" Nora hissed, before she spread her arms, "Hey everyone, it doesn't matter how many people you kill, so long as you do it long ago!" This time, Darkness didn't say anything, but he did stop walking. His fingers slowly started to curl.

"You create humanity, and then you wipe them out the moment they turn against you?" Blake demanded.

" **Do not speak on matters you do not understand,"** Darkness hissed, still not turning around.

"You committed genocide!" Jaune shouted, "And for what? Just because a few humans were stupid!" Though while it was extremely faint, he started to shake every so slightly.

"Say something damn it!" Jaune snapped.

" **SILENCE!"** Darkness roared as he virtually exploded into his true dragon form, sending a shockwave that knocked the whole group to the ground.

" **WE GAVE YOU MAGIC SO YOU COULD FORGE YOUR OWN DESTINIES AND STORIES, AND YOU WANTED MORE! WE GAVE YOU A WORLD TO MAKE ALL YOUR OWN, AND YOU WANTED MORE! WE GAVE YOU THE VERY LIFE IN YOUR VEINS, AND YOU WANTED MORE! SINCE THE MOMENT WE PULLED YOU FROM THE DUST, THAT IS ALL YOU MORTALS HAVE EVER WANTED: MORE!"** Darkness growled as he started to stalk towards them **, "YOU CAME TO VIEW US AS IF WE WERE NOTHING MORE THAN SERVANTS YOU COULD COME TO AND REQUEST BLESSINGS FROM. AND WHEN WE REFUSED AN UNREASONABLE REQUEST, SUDDENLY WE WERE CRUEL AND PETTY. YOU THINK THIS WAS ONLY EVER ABOUT THE WITCH? FOR AGES THE MORTALS QUARRELED AMONGST YOURSELVES AN INFINITELY PETTIER REASONS, AND THEY WOULD COME TO MY BROTHER TO BEG FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH ENDS. THE MORTALS OF THAT AGE DESERVED WHAT CAME OF THEM."** The group was only listen and stare in shock at the god's rage.

"Is that what you really believe?" Jaune eventually asked, as he slowly pulled himself back to his feet, "That _every_ last human deserved to be punished for the crimes of the bad ones?"

"Ilia and I once believed in something like that," Blake said, "That the many should suffer for what the few had done."

"But who cares what we think?" Weiss said, "You're the god, and we're the lowly mortals, what does our perspective matter on any of this?"

"You killed millions of innocent people for the sins of a few, and you hide it from us?" Ruby asked slowly. Darkness looked at the child for a time.

 **"RUBY...,"** he said slowly, as he tried to take a stepforward, only for Ruby to stumble away.

"You're... you're a monster," she said slowly, as tears of fear gathered in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have ever come back," Ren said, as he moved closer to Nora, "The people of this world don't owe you or your brother anything."

"You know, maybe it's a good thing you left!" Yang said, jumping to her feet, "If the gods think mass murder is justifiable, then maybe we've always been better off without them!" Darkness was silent for a time, as he looked to Jaune, as if expecting him to come to his defense.

"What you did...," Jaune said slowly, as he stared at the ground, before looking back up, shaking his head, "It's unforgivable."

" **SO BE IT THEN,"** he said, as he held up his claw. In an instant, RYPJ and BRWN cried out as glowing energy suddenly burst from their bodies. The energy floated over them, in the shape of their dragon forms, which floated over to Darkness' claw, coalescing into a single ball.

" **I HEREBY REVOKE THE POWER AND FAVOR I BESTOWED UPON YOU,"** he said **, "IF YOU THINK YOURSELVES BETTER WITH MY ABSENCE, THEN WHO AM I PROTEST?"**

"But those are our powers!" Nora blurted out.

 **"INCORRECT,"** the god answered **, "THIS IS MY POWER, I MERELY GAVE IT TO YOU AS A GIFT. IF YOU DO NOT WISH ME HERE ANYMORE, THEN WHY SHOULD YOU BE ALLOWED TO KEEP THE GIFTS I GAVE YOU?"** As what he was saying that into the teens, he started to disappear.

"Wait!" Ruby cried as she tried get up to try and get to him, only of her limbs to suddenly go weak. She and all the others, suddenly felt like ever ounce of their strength had vanished. True they said all those things, but they didn't think he'd actually _leave_. He wasn't supposed to leave, he couldn't leave.

"You can't leave us!" Weiss shouted.

" **STILL DEMANDING THINGS OF YOUR CREATOR?"** Darkness asked coldly, repeating the same question he asked Salem, before he fully faded away. The group was left alone, to stare at the space where the god once was, as the snow slowly started to picked up…

 **(in the Lands of Darkness)**

Looking back, Emerald found that the whole battle at Haven had been a blur. The most she remembered as fighting Yang, strange, reptilian shapes, and a voice accompanied by red mist. It was unnerving, looking back on it all; Emerald didn't like being in such a foggy state. But the most she could do at this point was stare out the window of the airship she and other's had managed to hijack, as they passed over the barren, Grimm-infested wasteland. Soon enough, they were upon Salem's keep, which they disembarked at. As they were doing so, Emerald saw Talos standing by the steps, looking right at them, or more specifically, _her_.

"Ah, I'm sure there are no hard feeling about the leg," Tyrian said mockingly, only to get shoved aside by the android, who came straight up to Emerald.

"What?" Emerald asked nervously, as she instinctively put a hand on her weapon. For a moment, Talos was silent, as if he was debating what exactly to say.

"Is it true?" he eventually asked in his steely, metallic voice.

"Is what true?" Emerald asked after a moment, though she had a good idea what he was referring to.

"Were you really the one responsible for Penny's death?" A chill ran down Emerald's spine at that; she'd overheard what Talos told Pyrrha, that Penny was his sister. She hadn't given it any real thought at the time, but now that she had Talos right in her face….

"Answer me!" Talos growled, as he took another step forward. Emerald took a step back, only to feel a hand on her shoulder.

"We should not keep her waiting," Hazel said, as he nudged the teen forward. Emerald was all too willing to do so; as she passed the android, his gaze followed her.

"You and I will be speaking later," Talos said, as he followed the group. Emerald just picked up her pace slightly.

Soon enough they were all in Salem's hall, facing down the witch who sat the end of her table. Sitting at the table was Watts, Magenta, and Crane, while Talos and Bai, both of whom had already been "scolded" by Salem for their failures, were also sitting down.

"So," Salem said, in a deathly calm voice, "I think an explanation may be in order."

"The dragons," Hazel eventually answered, "Their appearance…"

"I've already heard that," Salem said, holding up her hand, "I want to know how, despite having the Spring Maiden in your grasp, you let the opportunity slip through your fingers. You let the Relic of Knowledge slip through your fingers."

"Your Grace," Tyrian said, "I can assure…" Salem flicked her wrist, telekinetically shoving Tyrian to the side.

"I'd rather here it from you, Ms. Sustrai," she said. Emerald flinched, as she looked up in surprise. This was the first time Salem had ever addressed her directly like that. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Salem narrowed her eyes at her.

"I already know who is responsible," she said, as she unfolded her hands, "But I want to hear it said." Emerald stared at the ground, finding it hard to actually find any words.

"It was because of Raven," Emerald said, "She lied…"

"ENOUGH!" Salem snapped as she suddenly got to her feet, telekinetically swiping the table aside in the process, sending Crane, Bai, and Magenta tumbling to the floor, "You and I both know who is really responsible!" She started advancing on the group in front of them, as she held up her hand, as black claws began to emerge out of the ground at Emerald's feet.

"Emerald!" Mercury said, only to be held back by Hazel.

"Say it!" Salem hissed, as she got closer, and one of the black hands came dangerously close to Cinder's throat, "Say it!"

"Cinder!" Emerald finally blurted out. The hand then receded slightly.

"Go on," Salem said dangerously, not lowering her hand.

"She wanted to fight that Mistrali champion," Emerald explained, "That's all I remember, honest!" Salem was silent, as if considering Emerald's answer, before she lowered her hand, and the hands sunk back into the black pit on the ground.

"That's all I needed to hear," she said calmly, before turning to address all her minions, "Cinder must spend some time mulling over her failure. You are not to seek her out, is that clear." Nobody said anything, as everyone knew that was directed at Emerald. Salem the turned around, and walked back to the front of the room, as her lackeys stared after her.

"Those overgrown serpents are proving to be an issue," Salem said, as she stared out the window at the Nevermores flew by, "We will have to accelerate our plans in Vacuo. Once we have the Relic of Destruction…."

"Ma'am," Hazel interrupted. Salem glared at him, not pleased with being interrupted but didn't say anything.

"We can only assume the children have the Relic now," Hazel explained, "I imagine they're going to Atlas." That got everyone's attention. Talos hands curled into fists at the mention of the kingdom.

"And they're being lead, by Ozpin." That name hung still in the air, as everyone looked at Hazel in surprise.

"He's already reincarnated?" Crane asked, "So soon?"

"If anyone can get through to Ironwood, it's Ozpin," Watts said, "This may change things. Perhaps…" He was silenced, as the sound of the windows starting to crack slightly. Attention was drawn to Salem, as a dark Aura began to swell around her. She looked up, now visibly shaking. She hissed one word.

" _ **Leave."**_

"My Lady, perhaps I could…" Tyrian was silenced as Salem looked straight at him. With the message clear as day, everyone quickly retreated from the room. Emerald could only watch as the door closed. The sound she heard after it closed would haunt her nightmares for day stop come.

 **(in Anima)**

The group was slowly trudging the snow, going in the general direction of Argus. The ones in the lead were Oscar, Qrow, and Ilia. As for RYPJ and BRWN… Ilia glanced back; they were all several steps behind, walking very slowly, their heads hung. They looked so… weak.

"What's wrong with them?" Ilia asked.

"Think about what they just found out," Qrow said, taking a swig from his flask, emptying it in the process, "What would you be doing?" Ilia wasn't sure what exactly to say to that. She wished there was something she could say to Blake, but found nothing. She supposed this wasn't unlike when she found out what the Spirits really were. They kept walking, as the storm gradually got worse. Eventually, looking through the snow, Oscar could see something.

"Look!" he said, pointing, "It's a house!" Looking closer, the others could see it was indeed a house. Not a house in particularly good condition, but a house nonetheless.

"Well," Qrow said, "I guess it's a start."

The Old Ones: _The Outlaw_

 _Life was hard for the people of Patch. The real problem wasn't really the oppressive baron who ruled the island; people eventually learned to live with that. The problem was the Kraken that lived in the waters around the island. Anytime someone went out to the water to travel, or even just fish, they were taking their lives in their hands, as the Kraken could and would drag anything it could get it's tentacles on. The baron, meanwhile lived relatively safe in his castle, in the center of the island. But the worst part, was that on occasion, the Kraken would crawl onto land, and ravage it. Like it was today._

 _The people screamed, as the colossal tentacled creature swung it's tentacle, crushing another house in the process, as it slowly advanced across the ground. The people tried to run, but there were only so many places they could go. One family was trying to escape, but as they were running, one tentacle landed in front of them. The shock wave sent the son of the family tumbling away. The mother tried to call out, but her husband held him back._

" _Mommy!" the boy cried. But this only served to attract the Kraken's attention. It glance down at the child, who could only stare up in horror, before it held up it's tentacle, and brought it down. The boy closed his eyes…. but the blow never came. Instead, all he heard was the Grimm was bellowing in pain._

 _The boy slowly opened his eyes, to see the Kraken flaying around one less tentacle; but then his attention was drawn to the man standing beside the severed one. He had wild black hair and was wearing a black feather cloak over a red shirt and pants. He was carrying a long spear with a red blade at the end. He glanced at the kid, revealing a pair of bright red eyes._

" _Get outta here." The kid didn't need to be told twice, as he hurried back to his parents. The man then turned to the Grimm, now having its undivided attention. It brought down another two tentacles at it, which the man easily avoided. When a third came at him, he swung his spear again, striking it off. Using his spear to balance, he then flipped into the air, severing another tentacle as he did. Eventually, he was high enough, and he aimed his weapon. He then threw his spear, which whistled through the air, before hitting the Kraken square in the eye. There was then an explosion of Ice Dust, creating a massive ice block in the Grimm's face. The Grimm was killed in an instant, and after it faded away, the spear was left here, allowing the man to come up and retrieve it without issue._

 _The people slowly emerged from what little shelter they had, as they saw the beast that had tormented them for ages faded away. The man polished his spear off, before spinning through his hand to face the people, thrusting the tip into the ground._

" _My name is Branwen," the man announced, "Anyone who believes in doing what's right because it's right, can come with me." With that, he turned, and started marching out, in the direction of baron's castle. It took a moment, but one person started to follow him, then another, and another, until eventually, a whole tribe worth of people were advancing on the baron._

 **Note: So the truth is out there, and RYPJ and BRWN just lost their powers. Things are going about as well as one could expect. We're going to get into the Brunswick Farm scene; I'm going to be doing my own spin. How, I won't say.**

 **This was obviously a much shorter chapter than the last one, but not as much needed to be said in this one. Also, to clarify, these "Old Ones", are referring to people who exist in the past. By the time of this story, all of them are dead.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	68. Brunswick Farm

_**Brunswick Farm**_

"'Brunswick Farm'," Oscar read from the sign over the gate.

"Not exactly a resort location," Qrow commented.

" _Certainly not,"_ Oz said _, "But we're running rather short on options at this point."_

"Oz is saying let's go," Oscar said, as he lead the way in, with Ilia and Qrow right behind him. Ilia glanced over her shoulder again, noticing RYPJ and BRWN were still trailing behind.

"Come on!" she called, "The storm's getting worse." She didn't get an answer from the group, as they continued to trudge behind her, sullen looks on their faces. Ilia tried to think of something to cheer them up; maybe she didn't know any of them very well, save for Blake, but she thought they could use something, if anything.

"Come on!" she said, trying to smile, "I'm the reptilian Faunus here, I should be the one slugging behind in the cold." No one, not even Yang so much as smiled at that, as they all made their way into the property. They made to a large house in the center of the property; it was cold and drafty, but was an improvement over being outside in the snow.

"I recommend you all get comfortable," Oz said, "We won't be able to leave until the storm breaks."

"Everyone, look around," Qrow said, "Find anything we can eat, drink, or burn." While Ilia and Oz quickly started doing that, the others still seemed rather slow to do it. Oz sighed at that.

"Listen," he said, "I'm not going to presume that I know how any of you are feeling, but it won't help our situation in anyway." RYPJ and BRWN remained silent for a time, as they exchanged looks, before Jaune stepped forward.

"He's right," he finally said, speaking for the first time in a while, "We need to deal with the immediate issues first. Let's worry about Darkness when we're not all freezing." That got his teammates to agree, as they all split up.

"Let's go find some food," Ruby said to Jaune, "I'm getting pretty hungry."

"Now that you mention it, I am too," Jaune said, rubbing his stomach slightly, "I'll come with you."

"Actually," Weiss said, as she suddenly stepped forward, "I'll go with her."

"If that's the case, come with me and Qrow," Oz said, "We're going to check the other houses." Jaune just shrugged slightly, before he followed Qrow and Oz out the door. As they did so, Ruby and Weiss descended down the stairs to where they assumed the cellar. While there, they discovered what looked like a bar; a stocked bar.

"Let's keep this part to ourselves," Ruby said with a grimace. Weiss nodded in agreement. Ruby looked around, as she held up her scroll to get some light. Weiss suddenly shut the door behind them.

"We need to talk," she said firmly. Ruby looked at her, before looking at the ground. She knew what Weiss was referring to, but that still didn't make her especially enthusiastic about it.

"What about it?" she eventually asked.

"We still ned to do it," Weiss said. Ruby frowned at that.

"Really?" she said, "Now of all times?" Weiss gave her own frown at that.

"I don't need you telling me how bad things are!" she hissed, "You're not the only one who feels like someone just ripped a piece out of you!" That must've come out way harsher than she had preferred, judging by the way Ruby flinched at that. Weiss backed off at that slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It's just…. I'm feeling kind of hungry as well." Ruby took a breath, as she looked down.

"We can do it while we're here," she suggested, "If we can just get Jaune alone…" Weiss didn't like that idea, but a she thought about it, it was probably their only choice.

"Well," she said, "I suppose if that's what we need to do." Ruby just nodded in agreement, but she started looking for anything that could maybe defuse the tension. That was when something caught her eye.

"Look," she said, pointing Weiss followed her finger, and saw another door. This one seemed to be bolted shut, as if whoever shut it didn't want anyone ever getting in. Fortunately, Weiss was able to freeze and break the chains without issue.

"Food!" Ruby said, pointing, as she entered, with Weiss in tow. She hurried over to a shelf, where a bunch of cans sat.

"Canned food?" Weiss asked, not bothering to hide the distaste in her voice, before trying to smile, "I guess it's better than nothing." They both gathered multiple cans in their arms, before they hiked back up the stairs. When they got there, they saw Ren and Nora, as well as Pyrrha and Yang were already back.

"We bring food!" Ruby announced.

"Great!" Yang said, glad for some good news at least, "I'm starving!"

"Did you find anything?" Weiss asked.

"Pyrrha said she found a trailer in the garage," Ren said, "Maybe we could hitch Yang's motorcycle to it?"

"That's a good idea," Ruby said, as Nora greedily snatched a can of baked beans from her, "So where're…" There was then a sudden scream from upstairs. Everyone hurried up, to see Blake kneeling beside a collapsed Ilia. They followed their gaze to see a sight before them. The sight made all their stomach's turn.

It was a man collapsed on the ground in front of them, a knife in his hand. Not far from him as the corpse of a woman, carrying what looked like a screwdriver. Both were covered with blood. Ruby would've invoked Darkness, but then she remembered he was long gone.

 **(in Mistral)**

Cinder rubbed her shoulder, as she gave her surroundings another once over. She was in the lower reaches of the city, in the less "reputable" parts. The Maiden only really had a half idea as to where she was going; she had been asking/interrogating around, and managed to get the name "Malachite". She was a crime boss who controlled much of the Mistrali underground, and apparently operated out of institutions marked with a spider web. It took some looking, but eventually, Cinder found one.

When she entered the tavern, the smell of old alcohol nearly made her vomit, but she muscled through it, and made her way in. She quickly scanned the room, noticing several people eyeing her suspiciously. Cinder supposed that was to be suspected to some degree, but she still didn't like being the center of attention like this. She approached a table at the back, where a heavy set woman with blonde hair smoking a cigarette sat. Standing behind her were two young woman, both with long black hair. One was wearing a white dress with cyan lining, and had cyan makeup, while the other was wearing a red dress with red makeup.

"Excuse me," Cinder said, forcing herself to sound as polite as possible. The woman glanced up at her, as she smiled.

"Ah take a look at this girls," she said, "We have a newcomer."

"Are you Lil' Miss Malachite?" Cinder asked.

"That I am," the woman answered, tapping some ashes off her smoke, "These fine young ladies are my daughters, Melanie and Miltia." The girls just held their steely glance at Cinder as they stood behind their mother.

"And who do I have the pleasure of addressing?" Lil'Miss inquired.

"No one you need to worry about," Cinder answered cooly.

"Mama asked you a question," Melanie said, as she took a step forward, with her twin in tow. Cinder, if only on instinct, took a defensive posture.

"Now, now, girls, that's not how we treat our guests," Lil'Miss said, holding up her hand, causing the girls to back down, "You have to excuse my daughters. For my own, I don't think it really matters. I'll probably find out on my own soon enough. So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for information," Cinder said, taking a step forward, "They say you know everyone who comes in and out of Mistral."

"And what if I do?" Lil'Miss responded, spinning her cigarette through her fingers, "Nothing in Remnant is free." Cinder scowled, before she inhaled slightly.

"How much?" she asked.

"I'll let you figure that out," Lil'Miss answered, with a sneer. Cinder forced herself not to incinerate the woman in front of her, as she sucked in her breath.

"Fine," she hissed, before turning on her heels, "I'll be back.

"I'm sure you will." As Cinder left, though, a masculine figure watched. He was also dressed in a hood, though as he watched the Maiden leave, a red tail rose up from behind him…

 **(at Brunswick Farms)**

The whole group was gathered around the fire they had started, as Ilia held her knees to her chest. It wasn't that she wasn't used to seeing death, but for some reason, this seemed… different. The rest were all digging into the food Ruby and Weiss had brought up. The door then suddenly opened, as Qrow came in, dusting the snow off himself.

"It's the same in every house," he said, "It seems the whole damn farm tore itself apart."

"What could make people do this?" Blake asked, as she continued eating.

"Any number of things," Oz said, as the only one who wasn't eating, "But it should give us incentive to get out of here as soon as possible. Once the storm passes, we can get to work fixing up that trailer."

"Sounds like a plan," Qrow said, as he downed the rest of the can.

"In the mean time," Oz continued, "Everyone get some rest. I don't need as much sleep as you guys do, so I'll take first watch."

"Do we have?" Nora asked, "I'm still hungry."

"I am too," Yang added. Oz opened, then closed his mouth.

"Fine," he said, "But try to save some if you can." As the group resumed eating, as Oz left the room.

" _What's with them?"_ Oscar asked once they were out _, "I'm not feeling that hungry."_

"I'm not sure," Oz said, as he sat down at another table to stare out the window, "But there's something about this place. I can't put my finger on it, exactly, but there's something… off." Meanwhile, back in the living room, as Jaune kept eating, he was suddenly approached by two girls.

"Jaune," Ruby said, getting her partner's attention, "Can Weiss and I…" She trailed off, as she jerked her thumb to another room. Jaune blinked before nodding, as he rose to his feet to follow the girls in red and white.

Back in the other room, Oz continued to stare out the window. While he couldn't see much in the fading light and heavy snowfall, something caught his eye, something moving. He squinted slightly, hoping to get a better look. It was a shape of shorts, but that was all he could make out. It may have been a Grimm, it may have been an animal, it may have even been a person. But all he could see was it crawling into the well that sat right outside.

Unbeknownst to him, as well, a white hand wrapped around the corner, and a shape peered around it.

" _How fun, more mortals to screw with…._

The Old Ones: _The General_

 _The Empire of Mistral was on fire…._

 _Barbarians from Saunus had crossed the sea, and invaded the Empire's Western provinces. The Mistrali Imperial Army, while large, proved woefully ill-equipped to handle the invaders. Entire swathes of territory were lost to the barbarians, and they showed no sign of slowing down._

 _The Emperor gave the order to hold the invaders at Saya Pass, sending 20,000 men down to face an army of 50,000. Theoretically, the pass should have been narrow enough to negate the invaders' advantage in numbers,_ theoretically _. None of the soldiers were the least bit confident about it. One, whose name was Shin, was sitting by his tent, staring at the ground in front of him. He was trying to imagine tomorrow; he was trying to imagine going home to see his husband and daughter again. But try as he might, he couldn't…_

" _Moment of your time?" Shin suddenly looked up at that. Standing in front of him was a female soldier, dressed in bronze armor, and a bronze helmet, with a pair of bright green eyes peaking out On her back was a shield and a spear._

" _Sorry," she said, as she sat beside him, "You just looked like you needed someone to talk to."_

" _I'm… I'm just thinking," Shin answered slowly._

" _You must be thinking pretty damn hard," the soldier said with a gentle smile, before looking at the fire in front of them, "I'm scared too." That actually made Shin look at her._

" _I want to go back home," she said, "Go back to my parents. But whenever I get scared, I remember something my father once told me."_

" _What did he tell you?" Shin asked, now curious._

" _He said courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway," the soldier said, with a smile, "What's your name, soldier?"_

" _Shin."_

" _Well, Shin," the soldier said, patting him on the shoulder, "I'll look for you on the battlefield." With that, she got to her feet, and left. Not long after, Shin was summoned by his sergeant for an address of their general. But to his utter shock, when he got there, he saw the same woman who had spoken to him sitting on her horse facing them. She then took off her helmet, allowing her long red hair tumbled out._

" _My name is Medea," she answered, facing them all, "Medea Spartacus. I have been put in command of this army, in command of this defense. I know what everyone is saying around the camp, and I don't blame you. Our chances are dismal, but would you have us give up? Just walk away? You should know that this is your land the barbarians will ravage, and it'll be your homes they'll burn, and your families they'll murder! Are you going to stand by and let it happen?" There was a period of silence, as the soldiers exchanged looks._

" _No!" Shin declared, being the first person to do so. Then another said "no", then another, and another, as Medea smiled at the sound of all it._

" _Now I understand most of you are afraid, but know this: any man or woman who faces battle without concern is a moonstruck fool," she continued, "To be brave is to go forward anyway, no matter how afeared. That is why I go forward, with so many other brave men and women!" She then held up her spear._

" _For Mistral!" she declared, "For the Emperor!" She then pointed her spear to the pass, and charged forward on her horse. Her army cheered in agreement, as they all charged ahead, to defend their homeland._

 **Note: I didn't invent that part about the twins being the daughters of Lil'Miss. On the Vol. 6 commentary, the creators confirmed that they are indeed her daughters.**

 **This chapter is setting up the scene in Brunswick Farm. They don't seem to be tired, which is a plus. They do all seem rather hungry, though…**

 **In regards to the Old Ones shorts I've been doing, there is a meaning to them. I won't say what that meaning is yet, but there are hints dropped around; look carefully, and you may be able to get an idea.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Looking at the reviews, and looking at the general way people are approaching the matter, I'm noticing that these days, there seem to be two camps: people who blame what's happening on Salem, and people who blame pretty much** _ **everything**_ **on the gods, so I'll give my two cents on the matter. I meant to put this last chapter, but slipped my mind.**

 **Now let me be very blunt, what happened was not the gods' fault, it was Salem's. She was the one who wouldn't take "no" for an answer; she was the one who lied, and then tried to force the issue with the gods; she was the one who lied to the people and got them to rebel against the gods out of her own anger; she was the one who made it her goal to bring destruction and chaos to the world. Even Jinn noted that Salem blamed everyone but herself for what happened. Just blaming the gods for everything that's wrong with Remnant is simply not true. At any rate, he wasn't even the one who cursed her, the God of Light was, and he wasn't the one who pushed her into his pool. I'm not saying the gods are blameless, but Salem is the show's villain, not them. To place all of Remnant's faults on them is to absolve Salem of all she has done.**


	69. Of Hunger and Memory

_**Of Hunger and Memory**_

In the ages past, the Domain of Light was a sacred, warm place, from where all forms of creation and life could spring. Now, one could walk right by it, and never even realize that place was ever of any significance. After Darkness had smashed through the moon, the chunks rained down over the plane's surface; which in the process, destroyed the area. All that remained of it was the remains of the mountain, with a large crater in the center, and it seemed to have permanent cloud coverage.

Darkness slowly walked down what little remained of the path that lead to his brother's fountain. He came to a stop at the place he had stood when he cast the spell that destroyed the old humans. Once he did, the god summoned a ball of magic into his palm. All he would need to do was will it, and it could've happened all again. Being immortal, it sometimes made him realize how… fragile everyone could be.

" **Reminiscing, Brother?"** Darkness noticed Light approach him, hands clasped in front of him, as he always did.

" **This is where it all began,"** Darkness said, as he stared at the ball some more **, "The place where the child dragged humanity to ruin."**

" **Oh, I remember,"** Light answered, as he walked past his brother, and pointed **, "She knelt right** _ **there**_ **."** Darkness nodded at that, as he waved his hand, sending the ball away

" **Tell me something, Brother,"** Darkness suddenly said **, "Why did you refuse her when she made her request?"** That was a question he technically already knew the answer to, but wanted to hear his brother say it. Light seemed to understand that, but decided to answer anyway.

" **Life and death have always been meant to be separate, you and I agreed on that early in the humans' development. Death would give them purpose, a reason to do the things they do. They want immortality, until they actually experience it."**

" **How true,"** Darkness answered.

" **Now** you **tell me, Brother,"** Light said **, "Why did you grant her request? You knew it was in violation of the rules we made, and yet you granted it anyway."** Darkness was initially silent.

" **You could never understand what it was like for me, in my domain,"** he said, as he walked down what remained of the path **, "You had the mortals unceasing adoration and respect. They would always leave you offerings, send their prayers to you. Rarely did mortals come to me to seek my favor, to offer their reverence to me. It is as if I never existed to them."**

" **You cannot fault them for being afraid of you,"** Light said, as he watched his brother pass by **, "You created dark things, frightening things, that were spawned in your realm."** Again, Darkness was silent, as he looked at his hand.

" **Is that why you kept the past from them?"** Light inquired, as he came over him **, "Because they were offering you reverence and love?"** Darkness looked up towards the grey sky, before he turned into a wisp of dark energy, which vanished. Light didn't follow him, at first, as he looked at his old shrine one last time, before turning into a whip of bright energy.

 **(at Brunswick Farm)**

Jaune had no idea what the two girls would want for him at this point, as he was nearly pulled into a nearby room. He looked at the two of them in confusion, as they stood in front of him; Ruby was looking down while fiddling with her skirt, while Weiss was looking Jaune straight in the eye, her arms folded in front of her.

"So… what's up?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune, Ruby and I have been talking," Weiss said, "There is something that both of us need to say, or else we'll both be driven insane." Jaune cocked his head slightly, not sure where they were going with his. Weiss looked at Ruby expectantly. The girl in red took a shaky breath, before she looked up at Jaune.

"Jaune," Ruby said slowly, "I… I…. I like you!" It took Jaune a couple minutes to really process was she had just said. Ruby had just told him that she liked him, and even he knew what she meant when she said that. Just what was he supposed to do with this information?

"I… I…," he stuttered slightly.

"But that's not all," Weiss added, stepping forward. A sinking feeling settled into Jaune's stomach, as he realized just what the two girls were now referring to.

"Jaune Arc," the heiress said, "I also have feelings for you." Those words hit Jaune like a bag of bricks, as he tried to comprehend what he was being told. Not one, but _two_ pretty girls had just confessed to him; never in his wildest dreams did he think this would ever happen to a guy like him.

"Neither of us are expecting you to do anything in particular," Weiss said, "But the information is there, and you can do what you will with it." The three stood in silence for a time, as Jaune tried to think of something, anything to say.

"I… I…," he said. It was then that instincts kicked in, and he hurried out of the rom. That surprised Ruby, but Weiss just sighed.

"We should've seen that coming," she said.

"What?"

"Two girls just confessed to him at the same time," Weiss said, "What would you do if you were in his shoes?" Ruby brow furrowed, as she let out her own sigh, and nodded in agreement.

"I guess we did drop the anvil on him a little… hard," she said.

"That may be an understatement."

 **(in the next room)**

Some time later, the whole of the group was still piling into the food they had, already having blown through several cans. That didn't go unnoticed by Oz, who narrowed his eyes as he came into the room.

"It's getting late," he said, getting their attention, "I think we should all get some sleep now."

"Do we have to?" Yang asked, "I'm still hungry."

"So am I," Pyrrha mentioned, though she wasn't sure why. There were a series of agreements across the room, which made Oz narrow his eyes.

"Just give us another…," Qrow began.

"No!" Oz said firmly, slamming the brunt of his cane into the ground, "You've all eaten enough!" That actually got everyone to stop eating.

"Now, get some rest," Oz said, as he went to the bookshelf, "I'll take the first watch." There was some glances exchanged, as well as some annoyed grunts, but eventually everyone reluctantly set their food aside, and went looking for some blankets. Once they did, they all settled down for the night. Both Ruby and Weiss moved to go sleep next to Jaune, but as they did, they exchanged looks, which turned into frowns. But neither said anything, as they lay beside each other.

 **(somewhere in Mistral)**

Adam didn't know how it all went so wrong. It had all started so well; Adam had a plan, allies, everything that he needed to achieve his goals.

As he stumbled down the road, he took off his mask, and threw it over his shoulder.

" _I suppose that's suitable, that mask won't command the respect it used to anymore."_ Adam was immediately on guard, as he put his hand on Wilt.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

" _Oh calm down, boy,"_ the voice said again _, "If wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have spoken up."_ The voice was feminine, but sounded unfamiliar. Adam tightened his hand on the hilt, but didn't draw it just yet.

"What do you want?" he asked.

" _What I want is a moot issue,"_ the voice said _, "I think a better question is, what do_ you _want at this point?"_ Adam's brow furrowed slightly. The easy answer was the same as it always was: to crush the world of humans under his heels. But somehow, when he thought about it, that didn't seem to feel as important as it used to.

"Why do you care?"

" _Questions like 'why' are pointless at this point. The better question is 'how'? How are you going to accomplish what you want at this point, having lost it all?"_

"Where are you?" Adam demanded, getting tired of this talk, "Show yourself!" The voice laughed slightly, before Adam noticed a strange orange mist gathering at his feet. The mist then floated up in front of him, before it coalesced into a being. The being was tall, at least 12 feet, with orange skin, and long, dark hair that was in ringlets, with dark orange yes with black sclera. She was wearing a long golden dress, which her feet barely peeked out of. As Adam stared awe, the being smiled down at him.

"Who…. what are you?" Adam asked slowly.

" _My name is Mnemosyne,"_ the figure said, spreading her arms _, "I am the High Spirit of Memory, a being created to ensure the memory of all creation is kept."_ Suddenly, Adam's knees felt very weak, as those words set in. She was a High Spirit? One of the creators of the Faunus race?

" _I know what you're thinking,"_ Mnemosyne said, as she folded her arms _, "But honestly, it's not really important at this point. Now, I'll ask again, what do you want?"_ Adam struggled to find the words he could use in response; how was he supposed to answer the question?

"I… I…," he said. The Spirit's smiled widened, though it turned less kind and more ominous.

" _Perhaps,"_ she said _, "You could use some reminders?"_ Suddenly, memories flooded through Adam's mind; memories of his time in the White Fang. His time when he was still the hero for the Faunus, the champion who brought justice to the Faunus after so many years of oppression. And of his time with a certain, black-haired cat…

"Blake," he muttered. The memories of the two of them fighting side by side, and of them sharing moments together after the day was done. But he also remembered images of Blake turning her back on him, and of leaving him in the midst of their campaign.

" _Oh my,"_ Mnemosyne said, with a slight gasp _, "How could she leave you like that? After all you two have been through? After all_ you've _been through?"_ Adam's hands slowly curled into fists, as the memories simmered in his mind.

" _Now tell me,"_ the Spirit said, leaning forward, as she held up her hand. In that hand, materialized a crown. It was iron in shape, and had the heads of six animals on it: a spider, a shark, a frog, a cobra, an eagle, and a wolf.

 _"What do you want?"_ Adam looked up at his creator, straight into her eye, and then at the crown. He knew exactly what he wanted….

 **(at Brunswick Farms)**

 _Pyrrha slowly walked forward through the dark hall, trying to make it to the light at the end. Eventually, she made it, and she emerged into Amity Arena. She looked around, before she looked down; she had both her legs again. But she couldn't dwell on those thoughts, as she heard a voice…_

" _Salutations, Friend Pyrrha!" Pyrrha slowly, and shakily looked up, to see Penny standing in the center of the arena, waving with a big smile. Pyrrha took a step forward, as she opened her mouth to call out. But the moment she did so, fire burst from her mouth. Penny cried out, as the fire consumed her. The fire then cleared, to show in Penny's place, was Talos, glaring down at her in his glowing, mechanical eyes. Pyrrha reach down to seize her weapons, but found they were gone. She looked back up to see Talos had grown, and was now towering over her._

" _You murdered her!" the android roared, as he brought his fist down on her…._

 _(/)_

Pyrrha gasped as she suddenly sat up.

"Pyrrha?" Yang asked, as she leaned up from her position next to her, rubbing her eyes slightly, "You okay?"

"I'm… I'm fine," Pyrrha said, "I just had a bad dream, go back to sleep." She pulled herself back to her feet, as she rubbed her stomach. She was feeling hungry again, and decided to go look for something to eat. As she did, she glanced out the window, noticing the storm was still raging. With a sigh, she passed by Oz's seat, where the wizard was still sleeping, with an open book on the table next to him. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Pyrrha glanced over at the book, which seemed to be a journal of sorts.

 _Winter seems to have be coming early here. It's only September, and it's already getting cold. I've spoken to Stewart in Argus, though, and he says that the weather is still pretty mild there. Well, at any rate, I just hope it'll hold off just a little longer, so we can gather the harvest. At least the kids may be able to play in the snow soon._

Her interest giving way to her hunger, Pyrrha continued on. As she did so, Ruby was starting to wake up as well. When she did, she found she was nestled against Jaune's side, which made her smile. But as she sat up, she saw Weiss was also close to Jaune, and her smile turned into a scowl. But she was too hungry right now to think about that, as she went to the closet. She had hid a couple of cans in that closet, so no one else would take any. The sound of her rooting through the closet stirred Oscar, who rubbed his eyes, as he slowly leaned up in his seat.

" _Ah, you're finally awake,"_ Oz said in his mind _, "I trust you slept well."_ Oscar didn't answer, as he stood up to fully wake up.

"The storm's still going," he said, as he looked out the window.

" _It is,"_ Oz said _, "We probably won't be leaving anytime soon."_

"Well, at least we got plenty of food," Oscar said.

"What's this about food?" Oscar looked up to see that Yang had woken up as well.

"You didn't take any did you?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Uh, not anymore than I had last night," Oscar said after a moment. Somehow, that didn't seem to satisfy Yang, who narrowed her eyes at him, as she left the room.

"What's with her?" Oscar said.

" _I'm not sure,"_ Oz answer _, "But I've got a bad feeling about all this. Would you mind if I took over for a moment?"_ Oscar didn't protest, as Oz took control of his body. He then turned his attention back to the book, which was the journal of the man in charge of the farm, whose name was Bartleby.

 _It's only October, and the snows have already hit us. This weather is so strange, since I haven't head of any of the surrounding areas getting hit like that. We were lucky we were able to gather what he did, though even that was only a little more than half of the crop. But the kids are happy with the snow here, and we're happy to see them happy, so I don't think we'll have to worry about Grimm for now._

As Oz read, the rest of the group began started to wake up. As they did, they all had the same feeling: hunger. Qrow, of course, had less of an inclination to eat. He took a swig from his flask, emptying in the process.

"Damn it," he muttered, before he threw the flask to the floor. He then started the search for booze in the house.

"HEY!" Ruby's voice suddenly snapped, earning everyone's attention, "Who took my food?!" Oz narrowed his eyes as he heard that, but a thought came to his mind, as he turned his attention back to the journal.

 _We received a visit today by a traveling huntress. While she was here, she told us that there were reports of sightings of a creature in the woods. Though I told it wasn't going to be a problem, she still shared a sketch she had of the creature with us, as well as it's name, and told me to keep an out for it._

Upon reading that, Oz narrowed his eyes, before he turned the page. The sketch on that page sent a shiver down his spine; it was of a creature, definitely a Grimm, with it's, dark form, and sinister red eyes. It had a tall, emaciated, but aside from that, the only trait the sketch had was of a pair of broad antlers, like that of a deer. But it was the creature's name that turned the shiver, into an imposing chill.

"Wendigo".

The Old Ones: _The King_

 _Ahmad Horus' brow furrowed, as he stared at the map, or more specifically at the island to the South of Anima. With the war finally over, that island was going to be given to the Faunus. It wasn't much to be sure, but it was certainly better than nothing._

" _The geography won't change if you look away." Ahmad immediately stood up straight at the sound of the voice, as a tall man approached him. He had long, blonde hair, with bright blue eyes, and was dressed in a green suit. It was the (soon to be last) King of Vale, William._

" _Your Majesty!" Ahmad said, bowing slightly._

" _You don't need to call me that any more," William said, holding up his hand, "My abdication will be formalized tomorrow."_

" _I still can't believe you're doing this," Ahmad said, "Seems so… strong."_

" _Darwin said the same thing at one point," the king said with a chuckle, as he leaned on the table next to Ahmad, "But it needs to happen. The people need to have a say in things at this point." Ahmad supposed he could understand that, as he turned his attention back to the map. As he did so, William follow his gaze, as he frowned._

" _I'm sorry I couldn't get you a better island," the king said._

" _You don't need to be," Ahmad answered, "I know how much you had to do just to make the Empress give up that island." William nodded at that slightly, before his expression turned solemn._

" _I didn't do enough," he said, "I could've done more for the Faunus."_

" _You did what you could."_

" _You know that's not true." Ahmad looked at his friend, trying to think of something he could say._

" _As long as there is one Faunus and one human who believe in coexistence, then it is a cause worth fighting for," Ahmad said, with a slight smile. The King returned the smile, as he put his hand on his shoulder. With that, he turned to leave._

" _Hey, Your Maj… William," Ahmad suddenly said, to which the man turned around, "You know, I don't think I ever knew what your surname was."_

" _My surname?" William asked, and after Ahmad nodded, he answered, "It's D'Arc."_

" _D'Arc?"_

" _That's what I said," William answered, as he spread his arms, "Now I'm just William D'Arc."_

" _Does have a bit of a ring to it," Ahmad commented._

 **Note: So we've got another High Spirit being named, and she's meeting up with Adam. Mnemosyne was a Titan from Greek mythology associated with memory.**

 **This chapter was originally longer, but I wanted the scenes to simmer a little more. I'm going to draft the next chapter, and see how long it'll end up being, so this arc may end next chapter, but I'm not sure yet. Also, for those who may not know, the Wendigo is a creature from Native American mythology associated with cannibalism.**

 **Also, Weiss and Ruby have finally confessed to Jaune, but tensions seem to be bubbling in the farm.**

Piece of trivia, I had originally planned on the gods talking in dragon form, but I realized reading that all in caps would've been an eyesore. I also initially had Ruby say "Who took my cans?", but I didn't want to deal with the one person who may leave a review sniggering about the potential innuendo.

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Now, I want to say something quickly to the people who read my stories; I don't like to do this, because I don't like calling out people (even if indirectly), but this needs to be said. If you have ideas for a new story, that's great, and I'm generally willing to hear them. However I've now gotten a number of messages from people who do this mostly because they just want to have a concept they like written for them** **. I don't do requests; I tried once, but I got pestered by the requester so much I abandoned it. I suppose in some way it's a compliment that people think I'm good enough to write these stories, but still, I don't do requests, it's that simple. If you have an idea for a story, you can offer it to me, but when I turn it down, don't press me about it.**


	70. Of Hunger and Jealousy

_**Of Hunger and Jealousy**_

"What're you talking about?" Weiss asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.

"I had some cans stashed in this closet!" Ruby said, pointing to an open door, "Now they're gone!"

"Don't look at me," Yang said, holding up her hands, "I've got my own stash."

"Wait!" Blake said, "You're hoarding food too?"

"I'm just keeping some for myself," Yang said, "That's not 'hoarding'."

"We're all hungry here," Ren said, stepping forward, "You can't be keeping food just for yourself."

"Ren's right!" Nora said, "I'm not just saying that because he's Ren!"

"There's still plenty of food down in the cellar," Pyrrha said, as she came up next to Yang, "We can all have enough." As the group argued, Jaune stood the side, rather confused. Was he the only one who wasn't as hungry as the others? Figuring he should deal with this before anyone could potentially come to blows, he stepped forward, into the middle.

"Alright," he said, "We're all a little on edge right now with all that's happening, so let's all just take a break for now." Nobody said anything at that, but everybody seemed to be tired of the other's company, as they split up. As they did, Oz watched from the side, glad to see Jaune having stopped things from escalating, for now at least.

" _What's with everybody?"_ Oscar asked. Oz narrowed his eyes, as he looked back at the book, and at the sketch of the "Wendigo". There weren't many Grimm in the world he hadn't encountered at least once in his lifetimes, but this was one of them.

"Be on guard," he said, "We're not alone on this farm." With that, he turned his attention back to the journal.

 _We ran through the food pretty quickly; I'm going to have get the others and head up to Argus to get some more supplies. We're thinking of boarding the kids there for the winter; a couple less mouths to feed. We'll completely fill up, and get some extra. That should last us the whole season without having to go back out._

 **(in the Land of Darkness)**

Emerald sat on the floor of the training mat, her knees tucked against her chest, glaring at the wall in front of her. Behind her, Mercury was practicing.

"All that moping isn't going to change things," he said, as he struck out a kick. Emerald's glare just hardened.

"Cinder's still out there," she said.

"Yes, and?" Mercury responded plainly. That actually got Emerald to look up and glare at him.

"'And'? That's it?" she asked, "After all she's done for us?"

"All she's done for us?" Mercury said, as he paused for a moment to look at his "friend", "Last I checked, Salem was the one who promised us the world if we won this whole thing for her." He let himself smile at the thought of being the guy on top for a change.

"So that's what you're in for?" Emerald asked, getting to her feet, "Just to make yourself the top dog."

"Yeah, and I can guarantee that's all Cinder's interested in," Mercury answered, as he glared at Emerald, who balked at his words, "She doesn't care about either of us, and I suggest you make nice with that." Allowing her emotions to get the better of her, Emerald punched out, which Mercury easily blocked. He then kicked out, which Emerald dodged easily.

"I don't know or care what Cinder meant to you," Mercury continued, as the tow started circling each other, "But I'm here for me, and me alone; all I've ever had is _me_."

"So that's it?" Emerald answered, "That's all the reason you're here?"

"I do what I'm good at!" Mercury answered, narrowing his eyes, "Salem's giving me the chance to do my thing! You might not like it with Cinder not here, but I think I'm right where I need to be!"

"Pathetic." Both teens froze at the sound of the metallic voice. They turned towards the door, to see Talos standing there, his arms folded in front of him, looking at Mercury.

"You're not good at anything else, and are too cowardly to try and do anything else," Talos said, as he approached them, "All you are, is a small man, trying so desperately to be big."

"How long have you been there?" Mercury snapped angrily, coming up to the android, though Talos ignored him, as put a finger on his chest, and nudged him aside, as he advanced on Emerald.

"You and I are going to speak, alone," he growled. Emerald took an instinctive step back, knowing what Talos was talking about.

"Back off tin man!" Mercury snapped, as he stormed over to Talos, who looked down at him.

"Do you really think you can take me?" Talos asked dangerously. If he were being honest, Mercury seriously doubted it, but he wasn't going to leave Emerald at this guy's mercy just yet. So with that, he let out a yell, as he kicked out. Unfortunately, his metal leg didn't so much as scratch Talos head, who grabbed that leg, and tossed him aside. He then turned his attention to Emerald, who had her hands on her weapons.

"Now, I'm only going to ask once," Talos said, as he leaned towards her, "What did you have to do with the death of my sister?"

"Your sister?" Emerald asked.

"Penny!" Talos snapped angrily, "What did you do to her?" Emerald opened then closed her mouth. She could try lying, but she had a feeling Talos would be able to tell if she was doing so. With no other choice, Emerald finally gave the truth.

"I was just following Cinder's instructions," she said, "I created an illusion so that Pyrrha girl would attack her." Talos was silent for a time, as he seemed to process the information.

"So, she was telling the truth," he muttered, as he looked aside. Emerald let herself sigh in relief, thinking it was over.

"You did it." Those words immediately made Emerald look straight back at Talos, who was looking at her.

" _You_ are the reason Penny died," he said.

"Hey now," Emerald said, as she tried to step back.

" _You_ killed Penny!" Talos snapped, as he withdrew his blades from his wrists, "You must die!" Emerald drew Thief's Respite in defense.

"What're you getting all pissed off about?" Mercury suddenly asked, "It was just a robot." Talos froze in his place, as he slowly looked in Mercury's direction.

"Say that again," he said slowly.

"That thing was just a robot," Mercury said, "It wasn't like it was really your sister." Talos said nothing for a time, before his second pair of arms opened him, with their own blades.

"You, I'm going to enjoy bringing down," the android said dangerously. Both Emerald and Mercury took a fighting stance, as Talos got ready to fight both of them. But in an instant, he was on top of Emerald, bringing one of his blades down. Emerald moved to try and block, but the blow never came.

"Talos!" The android stopped, as he glanced over to see his arm being held by Hazel.

"Get off," Talos hissed.

"Don't you dare try and harm them," Hazel said, as he tightened his hold on Talos wrist. The android growled, before he drew in both of his blades. He then pushed past the man, and left the room.

"Thanks," Emerald said, though she wasn't sure why Hazel had protected her.

"Stick to places you're familiar with for now," he said, "Avoid the lower reaches of the castle, that's where he lurks."

"Why'd you do that?" Mercury demanded.

"We're in this fight together," Hazel said, watching the place Talos left from, "We can't be killing each other like this." He then looked back at the teens.

"There's been a change of plans," he said, "Tyrian, Watts, Crane, and Cheshire are all being sent to Atlas."

"To Atlas?" Emerald asked, "What for?"

"At this point," Hazel answered cautiously, "It might be better not to know."

 **(at Brunswick Farm)**

It was now noon at the farm, and the storm still wasn't breaking. Oscar leaned on the window, as he watched the snow fall, focusing on the well in the front.

"I've never seen a storm this bad," he said.

"We're probably going to be here for a long while at this rate," Qrow said, as he sat behind him, taking a long swig from a wine bottle. Oscar's eyes briefly flashed as Oz took over.

"Yes, and that's what worries me most," he said, as he took another look at the Wendigo. He didn't share this with the others, knowing it would just put them even more on edge than they already were. He took his seat again, and continued reading.

 _I can't believe we've already gone through ten cans worth of food. At this rate, we'll have to go to Argus again tomorrow. What's worse, we may have to eat some of the crops ourselves. I hope people aren't taking more than what we agreed on._

The rest of the group was scattered around the house, trying to take their minds off how hungry they were getting. On Oz's insistence, they were all taking a break from eating, even though all of them, save Jaune strangely, were still hungry. While Ren and Nora were sitting with each other upstairs, Ilia, still only really comfortable around Blake, was with the cat, who was in the library, reading. Yang and Pyrrha were in the basement, training again. Jaune was sitting in the living room with Ruby and Weiss, playing a game with Ruby on their scrolls, while Weiss was trying to read.

"I'll be right back," Weiss said, as she got up to use the bathroom.

"Take as long as you need," Ruby muttered.

"What?" Weiss asked, looking at her.

"Nothing," Ruby answered, not looking up from her game. She watched as Weiss left the room, before she bent towards Jaune.

"Jaune, can I tell you something?" she asked.

"Uh, sure."

"I think Weiss is the one who took my food," she said softly. That surprised Jaune slightly, as he looked at the girl in red. What he saw disturbed him slightly. Her normally bright, kind eyes were dark, and suspicious.

"Why do you think that?" Jaune asked.

"It makes sense," Ruby said, "She's always wanted everything for herself."

"Ruby…," Jaune said, only to be interrupted when she leaned in, and grabbed his hand.

"We got to stick together," she said, "Here, I'm starting to think we can't really trust anyone."

"How can you say that?" Jaune said, "They're our friends."

"So was Darkness," Ruby said bitterly. That also surprised Jaune; though he certainly wasn't happy with their (he supposed now former) mentor, he thought it at least warranted some discussion.

"What the hell is this!" a voice suddenly shouted. Jaune and Ruby looked up as Yang came storming into the room, holding up some cans. That yelling summoned the rest of the group into the living room.

"Who's been hoarding this food?!" Yang demanded, throwing the cans on the floor.

"We found these in a closet downstairs," Pyrrha explained. Several people looked at Ruby accusingly, remembering saying how she stashed some food for herself.

"Don't look at me, that's not where I kept my food," Ruby said, getting up, before pointing, "I bet it was Weiss!"

"Me?" Weiss said, surprised by the sudden accusation.

"Of course," Ilia sneered, "Leave it to a Schnee to want everything to herself."

"What's going on here?" Oz asked as he came in.

"Weiss is hoarding food!" Ruby declared.

"Wha…"

"How do you know it's me?!" Weiss answered, "It could just as easily be you! Maybe you're just angry with me because you're scared Jaune'll choose me over you!"

"Wait a minute," Jaune said, "Don't go…"

I'm his partner!" Ruby snapped, "And you're just a rich girl who wants Jaune because she can't have him! There's no way Jaune will choose you over me!" The group all stared at Ruby, shocked by how harsh those words were. Weiss began to slowly shake, as she slowly brought her hand down towards her weapon's hilt.

"And you're just a kid who doesn't appreciate the gravity of everything that's going on, and what it means to truly love someone!" she then answered. Those words hung heavy in the air, as Ruby slowly drew, and opened Crescent Rose, while Weiss took out Myrtenaster, and pointed it at her.

"Wait! Wait!" Jaune said, as he positioned himself in between the girls, looking to the other's for support, but they were still glaring suspiciously at each other.

"Maybe these cans are really your's!" Nora said, as she picked up one, and pointed at Yang, "You're just blaming others so we won't be suspicious!"

"How dare you accuse her like that!" Pyrrha snapped, coming to her partner's defense, "Maybe it was you!" Oz looked around in shock and horror at the way everyone started going at each other.

" _What's going on?"_ Oscar asked. Oz tried to think, and then he remembered another passage from Bartleby's journal. He hurried back to the table, and flipped through it again, stopping on the sketch of the Grimm.

 _I can't believe what I found today! Martha's been hiding food in the floorboards under her bed! She's been hoarding all the food for herself, like she's the only one who's hungry. If she's doing it, no doubt there are other's doing it too. I've got to found out who's been hiding our food! They've got to be stopped!_

"It's the Wendigo," Oz muttered, as he stared at the image.

" _The Wendigo?"_

"There are a few types of Grimm known for being able to influence the psyches and emotions of people. It must be the one causing these feelings to swell."

" _What do we do?"_ Oscar asked, but received no answer from the wizard, who hurried down towards the basement. He had an idea, and while it wasn't a good one, it was the only one he had at this point.

Meanwhile, Jaune was still trying hard to keep people from going at each other's throats, and while violence had started yet, anyone could tell that it was getting dangerously close. While Ruby and Weiss seemed poised to attack, Nora and Yang were both arguing fiercely, with Ren and Pyrrha ready to back up the other up. Ilia had taken to shouting occasional insults at Weiss, and Blake wasn't doing anything to stop them. But then, just when it looked like Ruby was about to push past Jaune and go for her friend….

"URAAAAA!" Suddenly the whole house was rocked by a roar, a sound that caught everyone's attention, and of wood breaking. Oz then came barreling into the living room.

"Everyone!" he shouted, "Run!"

The Old Ones: _The Princess_

 _Princess Artemis stretched, as she strolled down the halls of the palace, trying to think of something to occupy her time. She'd walked through the gardens twice now, and the novelty had since worn off. Trying to think of anything, she decided to annoy her sister some. Finding Neith was easy; she was always at the balcony, looking over the city, and that was just where Artemis found her._

" _I don't get what's so interesting about this place," she said, causing Neith to look up._

" _It's not interesting," Neith answered, "I just can't look away."_

" _Yeah, it is quite a sight," Artemis said, standing beside Neith, flicking her tail slightly, "So many working to one single goal."_

" _Working," Neith grumbled, her ears twitching, "Yeah, that's the word I'd use."_

" _Oh, not this again," Artemis groaned, remembering the bleeding heart her sister had._

" _It's wrong!" Neith said, standing up straight, and pointing, "What we're doing out there is wrong!"_

" _They're just humans," Artemis answered._

" _Just humans…," Neith echoed, "So we can just do whatever the hell we want to them?"_

" _Yes, we can," Artemis answered bluntly, glaring at her sister, "We're the superior race. We conquered them because we're stronger." Neith was silent as she let her sister finish, before taking a breath._

" _Artemis," Neith said, "Our empire's not invincible. Someday, it'll start to show it's weakness. There could very possibly be a day when the humans will say that we're 'just Faunus'."_

" _Well then, all the more reason to keep them in their current place," Artemis answered, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder. However, her younger sister just shook the hand off, turned on her heels, and marched away. Artemis watched as she did._

" _I'll never understand that girl," she grumbled._

 **Note: Come on people, did you really think I'd have the group try to start** _ **eating**_ **each other? I know the Wendigo is a cannibal themed monster, and I'm willing to go dark to some degree, but that's too dark. Next chapter will mark the end of the Brunswick farm arc, and the battle with the Wendigo.**

 **Also, things aren't going well with Talos. Have to wonder what he'll do once this is all done.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **So with Vol. 7 wrapping to a close, people seem pretty split on it. Again, I think** _ **RWBY**_ **as a whole plays better when all the episodes are watched sequentially as if it were a movie; my biggest grievance was how only Team RWBY was given any real attention; the previous seasons did a good job. Penny's return was my favorite part, and I have to say, I don't think** anybody **saw her being the Winter Maiden coming. I'm not a fan of the cliffhanger, though, because I'm not sure what the end of that will be. It's not like they're going to abandon Atlas, obviously, if for no other reason than Oscar is still there. I'm glad to see Penny joining the team; maybe she can join with Jaune, Nora and Ren, and become the new "P" in JNPR (though I doubt they'll do that).**


	71. The Wendigo

_**The Wendigo**_

While the group didn't know what Oz was talking about as he ran past them, telling them to run, the sound of something lumbering up to them, something _big_ , dissuaded them from protesting. They all quickly burst out of the house into the weather, and just in time, as the house exploded outward. The creature that appeared out of the wreckage made their skin crawl.

The Wendigo was a tall creature, even taller than Darkness as it rose to stand on two legs. It had a a deathly thin, humanoid body, that almost bordered on emaciated, and had long arms and legs, also equally thin, with large hands with massive claws. In place of feet, it had a pair of cervine hooves. Going down its back was an exposed spine, and it's head resembled a deformed deer skull, with a massive pair of antlers coming from it's head.

"What is that thing?" Qrow demanded, asking the question on everyone's mind.

" _Its name is Juracan,"_ a female voice suddenly said. But the voice was strange, like it was being carried on the wind.

" _It's a being created by the God of Darkness to bring destruction to creation,"_ the voice continued, as light began to gather in the storm _, "But you mortals call it a 'Wendigo'."_ The light then coalesced into a humanoid shape, which turned into a feminine figure, that seemed to be made of glowing white energy. It had long dark hair and dark eyes and yellow pupils. It had pointed ears with an earring in one, and had a white tunic with a white strap over it's breasts. This time, they could all recognize that this being was a Spirit.

" _Greetings,"_ she said, smiling cruelly down at the mortals as she floated beside the Wendigo, apparently named Juracan, who growled aggressively, apparently being restrained by the Spirit.

"Who are you?" Jaune shouted.

" _My name is Shaushka,"_ the Spirit answered _, "A being created by the God of Light…"_

"To steward his creation, yeah, yeah," Nora said, "We heard it before." The Spirit didn't seem to like being interrupted, but she still chuckled slightly.

" _Color me impressed, you certainly went at each other much quicker than the last group,"_ Shauskha said, leaning down towards the mortals _, "The last ones took at least a couple weeks to start trying to rip each other apart."_

"The last ones?" Ren asked.

"You mean the people who built the farm?" Blake asked.

" _I was really happy to see you guys showing up,"_ Shauskha continued, as she floated up to lean on the Wendigo's head, which continued to growl at the people in front of it _, "You had weapons you could use when killing each other; that always makes for a more entertaining sight than a few farmhands stabbing each other with their kitchen tools."_

"Why are you doing this?" Ilia blurted out. The Spirit looked at her for a time, as she cocked her head.

" _No reason,"_ she answered, shrugging slightly _, "Just something to pass the time."_ Ilia couldn't even answer; were these really the beings she once worshipped?

" _Well, talking is also proving kind of boring,"_ Shauskha said, floating off the Wendigo's head _, "and Juracan's getting impatient."_ The Wendigo let out a hiss that sounded like a tortured breath. However, before sicking them on the mortals, Shauskha noticed something about Oz, or more specifically the lamp on his hip.

" _What is this?"_ she said, leaning forward. Oz instinctively put a hand on the lamp, as he glared at the being, who narrowed her eyes. She recognized the power in that.

" _Spare that one,"_ she whispered to Juracan _, "Do what you will with the others."_ The Wendigo then held up its head, and howled, before bringing down it's hand.

"Scatter!" Qrow shouted, which the group quickly. Yang, however, leapt at Juracan, punching down. She landed a direct it, but the the thing didn't even flinch, as it snapped it's jaws at her, causing her to half to leap back. In a move to try and distract it, Pyrrha shifted Milo to gun form, and fired, hitting it in the side of the head. Though it did no damage, it did get the Wendigo's attention, which growled as it turned towards Pyrrha. It then advanced on her, only to get struck with Lighting Lash from Ilia. The Lightning Dust stunned it slightly, which Nora seized as opportunity to attack with her hammer.

" _I don't think so!"_ Shauskha said. Suddenly Nora was telekinetically pushed away.

"That's not fair!" Nora protested.

" _Only mortals play fair,"_ the Spirit sneered. Juracan was quickly on top of Nora, but Weiss acted quickly to help her partner, creating a glyph under the Wendigo's hoof. This caused it to lose it's footing, and fall skull first into the snow. Ruby then tried to take advantage of the situation, swinging down Crescent Rose, but the Wendigo moved faster than they'd expected, as it swung up it's claw, knocking her away.

"Ruby!" Qrow called, as he switched Harbinger to scythe mode, charging the Grimm as it got back to it's feet. However, the thing thrusts its head forward, causing the scythe to get locked in its antlers. Qrow grappled with it, before the Wendigo managed to throw him away. It then got knocked in the side of the head by Yang, but again, it did surprisingly little damage, and before Yang could react, it seized her in it's claw, and held her to it's face. Yang gagged on it's foul breath. The Wendigo then opened its mouth...

"Yang!" Ruby and Pyrrha cried together as they feared the worst. But instead of chomping down on her, the Wendigo started to drain what looked like yellow light from Yang.

"Is that her... Aura?" Qrow asked. As the Wendigo consumed it, Yang's body slowly began to thin, as her cheeks started to hollow out, and her skin start to wrinkle. Shauskha just smiled cruelly at the sight. Fortunately, Ren was quick to react, as he leapt onto the Wendigo's back, and started hacking away it. That got Juracan angry enough to grab at it's back in an attempt to get Ren off of him, causing it to drop Yang.

"Yang!" Pyrrha said as she ran over to her partner with Ruby and Qrow. Yang just weakly groaned in response. Before the three could say anything in response, the Wendigo was on top of them, swinging its claws. Qrow picked up Yang, and managed to avoid it. Nora then pressed her attack against the Wendigo, only to be suddenly frozen in air by the magic of Shauskha.

 _"Eat up, my friend,"_ she said to Juracan. The Wendigo then opened its maw, and started doing the same it did to Yang to Nora, and the same thing started happening to her.

"NO!" Ren cried, as he ran at the beast, and leapt up at it. However, Juracan proved remarakbly fast for its size, as it snatched Ren in mid air, and started to consume his Aura as well.

 _"Yes... yes...,"_ Shauksha said, as the Spirit watched _, "Bring these vermin back down to where they all belong."_ It was then that the Wendigo sucked in deep, and suddenly all the group doubled over, as it started sucking their Auras.

"I feel so... weak," Ilia groaned.

"It's like it's consuming our life force," Blake said.

"Because that's exactly what it's doing," Oz said, as he tried to stand up, but even he was having trouble, as everyone else was, save for one. Jaune slowly pulled himself to his feet, and dragged himself forward. With Juracan focused entirely an eating, and Shauskha too busy enjoying the sight, neither noticed as he held up his sword to one of the Grimm's lowered hands, and slashed down.

The Wendigo howled in pain, as it stumbled back, it's right hand devoid a couple fingers. It kicked out with one its hooves, getting a direct hit on Jaune.

"Jaune!" Ruby and Weiss cried out, as they were freed from the Wendigo's hold. Ruby was the first to act, as she fired a round at the side of Juracan's head, getting it's attention.

"Of there you overgrown deer!" Ruby suddenly shouted. She figured she could move the fasted, so she'd be the best off against the monster. The Wendigo took the bait, as it roared. Ruby activated her Semblance to get ahead, but Juracan fell to all fours, and bounded after her. To her shock, the Grimm actually kept pace with her, storming through the trees.

" _You dumb beast!"_ Shauskha shouted angrily. The Wendigo howled again, but didn't pay any attention. Shauskha snorted as she followed after it, noticing the girl

" _Keep trying, mortal!"_ Shauskha called mockingly _, "No one can outrun Juracan!"_ Ruby wasn't about to give up just because a wannabe god was shouting at her, as she tired to keep her pace. She activated her Semblance, but the Wendigo was still able to keep pace, until suddenly, as she running, she tripped on a rock, and fell flat on her face. In almost an instant, rancid breath filled her nostrils, as she slowly looked up to see the Wendigo's snout in her face. Ruby would've screamed as the thing loomed over her, but found herself to weak as the creature started to consume her Aura again.

"RUBY!" several voices cried at once. However, the Wendigo suddenly screamed in pain, as it recoiled back. Ruby weakly looked up, to see Weiss on it's back, thrusting Myrtenaster into its shoulder. However, the Wendigo quickly recovered, as it reached back, and threw her off. Weiss crashed into the ground, landing face first, her Aura shattering. Before she could react, the Wendigo was quickly on top of her, ready to devour her Aura again, and with her Aura now severely depleted...

"NO!" Ruby cried, as instinct kicked in and she reached out. Her eyes then exploded with silver light, which seemed to consume the entire area. Everyone had to shield their eyes from the light, but when they lowered it, they greeted by quite a sight.

The Wendigo was now solid rock, frozen in the position it was in while attacking Weiss. After a moment, it slowly broke apart, until all that remained of the fiend was a pile of rubble. Everyone could only stare at the sight, save Oz, who took a relaxed breath. Shauskha was also shocked by the sight; she had heard of the Silver Eyed warriors, but she never thought them of any consequence. But now….

" _This isn't over mortals!"_ she shouted, as she turned into a wisp of white light, and vanished. Once she was gone, the storm quickly faded, as if it was never even there.

"Weiss!" Ruby called as she ran over to her, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," Weiss said, rubbing her head.

"Well," Oz said, as he came up to them, "I think we have quite a bit to discuss."

 **(in the Land of Darkness)**

Talos leaned against the wall of his room, his forehead pressed against it. His room in Salem's castle was in one of the lowest levels, away from the organics, just as he liked it. His room as rather bare, only consisting of an open space where his multiple bodies stood when they weren't being occupied. He didn't really need anything else; he didn't need sleep or rest, and any information he wanted he could just store in his memory banks. And at the time, he was accessing those memory banks, shifting through memories, old memories.

Reaching up, he removed his face plate, exposing his normal face. An image then projected out of his eyes; an image of his sister. The projection didn't speak, but the image of Penny simply turned in Talos direction and smiled. His hands turned into fists. He wasn't supposed to be feeling like this; feelings were organic flaws.

" _Talos."_ The android was incapable of flinching, but would've if he could.

"Your Grace," he said, as he turned to the Seer that had floated into his room.

" _You've always insisted that you are devoid of emotions,"_ Salem said _, "And yet here you are, fuming like a hurt child."_

"It is a personal matter," Talos answered.

" _I don't have time for your 'personal matters',"_ Salem said. Talos leaned back up as he deactivated the projection, and put his faceplate back on, turning towards the Seer.

"Did you know about Emerald's role in my sister's death?" he asked.

" _Whether or not I did is completely irrelevant,"_ the witch answered bluntly _, "I am under no obligation to explain myself to you."_

"If it concerns me…."

" _Incorrect,"_ Salem interrupted _, "What concerns you is not the least bit important. The only thing that matters is_ my _concern; it is though_ me _, and only me, that you're goals will be realized. Be assured, you'll get what you want; Atlas will burn, and you'll have the best possible seat to watch as it does. But in the meantime, I would prefer that you not start killing the others in this castle. Is that clear?"_ Talos said, nothing as he stared at the Seer for a time.

" _I do hate repeating myself. I said, is that…."_ This time, it was Salem who was interrupted, as Talos thrust one of his blades though the Seer, destroying it.

"I'm tired waiting on your schedule," he said to the remains as they turned to ash, knowing she could still hear him, "I'll have my own revenge on both Atlas, and those who murdered my sister." He knew he couldn't go after those in the castle yet, but Pyrrha was still out there, and she still bore half the responsibility for what had happened to Penny. He would kill her first, and when he was done, he'd come back, and claim not just Emerald's head, but also Cinder's, and Salem's…

 **(at Brunswick Farms)**

… _.so hungry…._

Oz snapped the journal shut, as he completed the final entry.

"So, that's it then?" Qrow asked, as he sat on the steps beside Oz. With the storm having finally broke with Shauskha gone, the group was all too eager to leave the place behind them, once their Auras all recovered. Pyrrha was helping Yang set up trailer and link it to her motorcycle so they could head out. Having finally finished the book, Oz now understood what really had happened. Apparently the Wendigo was able to consume the Auras of anyone who was close to it, and that manifested in hunger for the people it was happening to. It certainly explained everything that was happening.

"So it would seem," Oz said, as he set the book on the porch for whoever would find it next, "The Spirit must've brought the Wendigo into the waterways under the property, where it took up residence. And then she kept the storm going so as to keep the people trapped on the property, while the Wendigo continued to lurk right beneath their feet. Between the Grimm, and the tension, I guess it's no wonder that things happened the way they did. Bartleby should've taken his family and left the moment he got word the creature was in the area."

"It took them weeks to start tearing each other apart," Qrow said, "How'd we last such a short time?"

"Our group was already fraught with doubt and confusion," Oz said, "I think we were all already under such emotional strain, it wasn't hard for us to turn on each other." Qrow sighed, as he pulled out his refilled flask, and took a swig. This was not good sign for him, if they so easily turned on each other the way they did.

" _Why wasn't Jaune affected the way the others were?"_ Oscar asked. Oz looked in Jaune's direction, as he helped roll a new tire up to the trailer.

"Actually I'd guess he was, but since he has such an exceptioanlly large Aura, it would take much longer for him the feelings to manifest in him," he answered, before chuckling, "Maybe there's a reason the God of Darkness actually came for him."

As the there were talking, Weiss was sitting by the well, staring in the direction the Wendigo's remains were. Though she knew it was gone, she doubted she'd ever forget a creature like that; its breath, its howl, and the feeling of having her Aura literally pulled out of her the way it was.

"Weiss." The girl in white glanced up, to see Ruby slowly coming up to her, staring at the ground.

"Yes?"

"I… I just wanted to say I'm sorry," she said, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"It's okay," Weiss said, "It's not like I was really helping the situation. But we were both under the influence of the Grimm." Somehow, that didn't make Ruby feel any better about it. Her spirits were lifted somewhat though by the sight of Jaune coming up to them.

"Hey Ruby, Weiss," he said, holding up his hand, "Can I…. you know." Both girls' hearts skipped the beat. They knew what this was about. Both were almost afraid to hear what he said to say, but nonetheless, they followed him away from the main group.

"So…," Weiss said slowly, "What is it?"

"I… I've been giving some thought to what you guys told me," he said.

"Okay," Weiss said not sure where he was going with all this.

"Both of you are some of the nicest, prettiest, and most wonderful girls I've ever met," he said, "And I don't want to hurt either of you." The girls exchanged a look at that. Weiss would've told him to get to the point, but after what he just said about how wonderful she was, she thought it wouldn't do any good.

"But the truth is…," Jaune said slowly, "I… I…. can't decide."

"Huh?" both girls said, including Weiss, to her slight embarrassment.

"So… you mean you aren't sure?" Ruby asked slowly, as if she was afraid of the answer.

"I can't decide because I like both of you," Jaune added. That made Ruby's heart flutter and Weiss' heart skip. He liked both of them? Was this really what their confession was amounting to? The three stood in silence of a while, before the white-haired girl finally spoke up.

"Well then," Weiss said slowly, "I guess that's that, then."

"What?" Ruby asked.

"It's not as if Jaune can choose both of us," Weiss said

"Well… why not?" Ruby said. That got her friends to both look at her.

"Why not what?" Jaune asked.

"I was just thinking, why don't you try being with both of us?" Ruby asked, shifting on her feet, "I think we can find a way for it to work."

"Eh?" Jaune asked dumbly, as he stared at her equally dumb. Weiss just stared at Ruby in surprise.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked.

"Well, no," Ruby said, "Jaune can spend time with both of us, go on dates with one of us sometimes."

"It's not that easy," she said, "How would you feel if I suddenly took Jaune away for a night?" Ruby's brow furrowed, but she took a breath.

"You're my friend, Weiss," she finally said, "I know you wouldn't hurt him in anyway." And though it was unspoken, Weiss knew the same was true about Ruby. That got her thinking, was this sort of relationship possible? In theory, she supposed it was, but in practice….

"And if it doesn't work out," Ruby said, "I'll be the first to walk away." Those words hit Weiss hard, as she opened her mouth to protest, but found she couldn't. If Ruby was willing to try this, then maybe there could be a chance.

"Well, I guess we won't know unless we try," she said. That just left the response of the guy in question, as the two girls looked at him, awaiting his decision on the matter.

For his own, Jaune was rather befuddled by the suggestion; he had meant what he said when he said that both Ruby and Weiss were wonderful woman. But dating both of them at once? That seemed a little… extreme. But as he thought about it, a specific thought came to mind: those girls both cared about enough that they were willing to try and make a double relationship work. How many girls were willing to go that far? Maybe they were even more wonderful than Jaune original thought.

"Well…," he said slowly, "If you girls want to give it a try…" Both Ruby and Weiss looked at him in surprise, before Ruby practically tackled him.

"Thank you! Thank you!" she said happily, before she gave her new boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her antics, as he got to his feet, Ruby still latched onto this, until she got off to allow Weiss her own chance to embrace him. The heiress then gave him her own kiss on the cheek. That was when a thought came to Ruby's mind.

"Who get's the first kiss on the lips?" Ruby asked. Weiss paused, as she seemed to think.

"Flip a coin?" she suggested.

 **(in Salem's room)**

Salem watched passively as a green light vanished into the clouds. She knew exactly who that was; the commotion in the lower reaches made it rather obvious. As she was watching, the same red mist gathered around, and seemed to loom over her shoulder.

" _Won't you go after him?"_ the being asked.

"Not yet," Salem answered, "He's not worth the effort."

" _He may prove a problem in the future."_

"All he is is a child throwing a tantrum," Salem answered plainly, "He won't be able to accomplish his goal without me, and I know where he's going. He's strong to be sure, but against Tyrian, Arthur, Magenta, and Crane all at once? Even he would crumble before them." The being was silent for a time.

" _Very well,"_ he eventually said _, "I suppose it is of no real consequence to me or my brethren."_ Salem glanced at the mist, as it started to float away, but said nothing. She then turned as she walked over to a shelf in the room, removing the stuffed dog from her robes again. She then set it on a shelf, beside three orbs, one blue, one orange, and one pink.

"Soon," she muttered softly, caressing one of the orbs, "Soon…"

 **Note: You'll notice there wasn't an "Old Ones" short this chapter. I had actually meant to take a break before Neith's short, but I completely forgot about it. So we'll be taking a break here.**

 **So the pairing's finally been decided: it's Jaune x Ruby** _ **and**_ **Weiss. Yeah, I decided to roll the dice, and give it a try. The honest reason, is I didn't want either of those wonderful girls to have their hearts broken. I have a plan for how it'll turn out, and I think it can work. So, just have a little faith for the time being.**

 **With that, the Brunswick Farm arc is over, and I'll go over my inspiration at the end of the volume. Juracan was the name given by the conquistadors to an American deity associated with storms and chaos, Shauskha was a Hittite deity associated with fertility.**

 **So Talos is leaving Salem to pursue his own revenge, and he seems to be starting with going after Pyrrha (the "easy" prey in his mind). Is that rational? Maybe not, but it's not like he's a purely rational being. And for the record, getting revenge for Penny was never Talos' sole motivation. If you remember, back when he was planning to assassinate Lin, he stopped when he saw Pyrrha, and that was when he started obsessing over her and his revenge. He has more motivation, which you'll see eventually.**

 **On that note, a few people brought up that Hazel was being a hypocrite for stopping Talos from attacking Emerald. Yeah, that's exactly the point. If there's one word I'd use to describe Hazel, it'd be "hypocrite". He calls Ozpin a monster for having Oscar as an incarnation before absolving himself of all wrong doing, and then proceeds to shout at him again about letting children being harmed while torturing Nora (of course it didn't do any real good, but the point stands). I really think he'd have no opposition to crushing anything in the way of getting his own revenge, but won't let his erstwhile comrades be harmed by those seeking their own revenge.**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **I'll quickly note that, I'm not going to wait for the next volume of** _ **RWBY**_ **. I've got my own ending and progression of events for this fanfic, so no need.**


	72. Welcome to Argus

_**Welcome to Argus**_

"Here!" Cinder said, as she threw a bag full of lien cards on the table in front of the Malachite family. For Cinder getting the lien hadn't been hard, but it had been inconvenient. The information that thug claimed to have better have been worth it. Melanie and Miltia leaned down in anticipation of the things they could use the money on.

"Simmer down, girls," Lil' Miss said, holding up her hand to her daughters, before looking towards, Cinder, "I'll give you this, you can get a job done."

"Now, what about your side of the agreement?" Cinder said.

"From what I've heard, they were seen boarding the Argus Limited," Lil' Miss explained, "Something tells me they ain't interested in Argus. I'd say they're going to…."

"Atlas," Cinder finished for her, before turning on her heels to leave.

"Mama," Melanie said, glancing at her mother once Cinder was out of earshot, "What about the other guy?" As she watched her latest source of income leave, the gangster tapped her cigarette on the ash tray.

"What did I tell you two?" she asked.

"Never put your eggs in one basket?" Miltia answered.

"That's my girl," Lil' Miss answered with a smirk.

Meanwhile, Cinder stepped out of the tavern, intent on catching any kind of left to Argus. She didn't care what it was, so long as it was something. However, as she was going, she noticed a cloaked figure following her. Recognizing pretty quickly what this meant, Cinder ducked into an alley. Her tailer followed, and glanced around, as he suddenly felt a hot sensation behind him.

"Any last words before I take your head?" Cinder said, as she held a fire sword to his neck.

"Relax," the figure said, holding up his hands, "I'm a friend." As he did, Cinder noticed a red scaled tail coming up from behind him.

"I don't have friends," she responded.

"Then I'm an ally; or at the very least, I can be." Cinder paused, as she thought about that. While she didn't doubt she could do this all alone, having someone to help wouldn't be a wholly bad thing.

"What do you want?" she said, lowering the blade slightly. The figure then turned to face her, as he lowered his hood. His head was shaven, and covered with red flame tattoos, with blazing orange eyes, though a gruesome scar had carved its way down the left side of his face.

"My name is Drago Blaze," he said. Cinder recognized that as the leader of the mercenaries Watts had hired to track the teens.

"Not what I asked," she hissed.

"Fine then, I want the same thing you want," Drago answered, "I know who you're tracking." Cinder blinked at that.

"How?" she hissed, tightening her hold on her weapon.

"Because you're not the only one who wants those kids dead," Drago hissed, narrowing his eyes, as his tail flicked slightly. Cinder arched an eyebrow at that.

"Why should I believe you?" she asked.

"Why would I lie to you?" Drago asked, "I know what you can do to me." Cinder narrowed her own eye at that; how long had this lizard been watching her? But at any rate, he had a point.

"I'm listening," she said, as she let the sword dissipate.

"If you'd follow me," Drago said, "We can discuss this more… privately." Cinder wasn't sure about doing anything like that with a Faunus she just met, but figured if things went South, it would be his head, not her's.

"Lead the way, Mr. Blaze," she said, gesturing. As the two walked deeper into the alley, a silver mist peaked around the corner, watching them.

" _How interesting."_

 **(in Northern Anima)**

The trip from the farm to Argus took a couple hours, as the group piled into the trailer attached to Yang's motorcycle. Considering how many of them they were, Pyrrha volunteered to sit on the back of the motorcycle. Jaune was sitting in it, with Ruby cuddled up next to him, while Weiss leaned on his other side. Having a girl on each side was certainly never something Jaune envisioned happening, but wasn't complaining. This got some weird glances from their teammates; Jaune would let the girls explain it if possible. He had no idea how Yang would react to sister being one of _two_ girlfriends for her friend; Jaune shuddered slightly at the thought of Weiss' own sister, Winter finding out as well.

"By the way," Ilia said spoke up from the other side of the trailer, beside Blake, "How'd you turn that Grimm to stone?" Ruby leaned up from Jaune at that, looking somewhat surprised that Ilia, of all people, was talking to her.

"What?" she asked.

"Well…," Ilia said slowly, before pausing. This was the first time she tried to make small talk with anyone, let alone a human. If she was being completely honest, she had been doing her best to _avoid_ talking with the humans on Blake's team, but figured if she kept going that, it'd be impossible.

"It's just… when the Wendigo was attacking the Schnee…"

"Her name is Weiss," Jaune said, with a frown. He wasn't going to let his girlfriend get referred to like she was an object. Weiss smiled at that, as she intertwined her fingers with Jaune's.

"Sorry," Ilia said, "When… Weiss was being attacked, you're eyes flashed, and the Wendigo was turned to stone." That got everyone to look at Ruby at that. It wasn't like Ilia was the only who had noticed.

"I'm…. not sure actually," Ruby said. In fact, at first, she wasn't even entirely sure it had been her that did it.

"I just saw Weiss on the ground, my head hurt, and…." She trailed off; that was all she really remembered about the event. Just her head hurting, and the Wendigo turning to stone. Oscar's eyes flashed yellow, as Oz took over again.

"If I were to venture a guess, I would say it would have something to do with your eyes," he said.

"My eyes?" Ruby asked.

"There's more to the Silver Eyed Warriors than just the fairy tales," Oz said, "In my days, I've had more than a few encounters with them."

"So, what're they all about?" Ruby asked.

"Unfortunately I can't tell you," Oz answered, "For all my lives, I've never bonded with one with silver eyes." Ruby's brow furrowed at that, as Jaune put a hand around her shoulder, as she leaned closer to him. She pondered if Darkness would be able to answer such a matter. Of course he wasn't here to help, so…."

"If it's worth anything…," Oz began.

"Look!" Nora interrupted, as she suddenly sat up pointed. Everyone followed her finger as Yang rolled to a stop. At the bottom of the hill they were on, was a walled city sitting on the coastline. It was a welcome sight after it all that had happened.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Yang said, looking behind her, "we have arrived in Argus."

The group rolled down to the city, where Yang was able to store her motorcycle. Most of the group was rather impressed by the size of the city, while not as big as any of the capitals, it was still quite big.

"So… what now?" Nora asked, "Where're we going to stay?" Pyrrha would've suggested staying with her parents (who she made a mental note to visit while here), but figured that her house wasn't big enough for all of them.

"I've got an idea," Jaune said holding up his hand, though he said with a sense of apprehension, "It's not far from here, but we'll need to catch the trolley to get there."

"Well, if anyone has any other ideas?" Oz asked, looking around, "No? Lead the way, Mr. Arc." Jaune proceeded to do just that.

"Where're we going?" Weiss asked, as she and Ruby came up next to their boyfriend, each girl taking a hand.

"You'll see," Jaune said. The two would've protested, but the way he looked made it seem like he really didn't want to talk about it, so they didn't pursue the subject.

After a brief trolley ride, they came across a nice neighborhood in central Argus. Once they disembarked, Jaune lead them up to one of the various houses not he block. He came up to it, and held up his fist to knock, only to pause.

"What's wrong?" Ren asked.

"Just… nothing," Jaune answered, as he finally did knock. It took a moment, but the door was soon answered by someone. And, to the group's surprise, it was a little boy, with four red tentacles coming out of his back, marking him as an octopus Faunus. That surprised both Blake and Ilia; Jaune was taking them to a Faunus' house. The boy, who looked to be maybe six, looked up at Jaune, as his eyes widened.

"Uncle Jaune?" he asked as a smile slowly spread over his face.

"Hey Flynn," Jaune said with his own smile, as he came to one knee, allowing the boy hugged him with all four of his tentacles.

"UNCLE?!" Ruby, Yang, and Nora all blurted out.

"Why don't you go tell your mom I'm here," Jaune said as he separated himself from Flynn. The boy nodded happily as he ran back into the house.

"Mommy!" he called as he ran back into the house, "Uncle Jaune's here!"

"You have a nephew?" Yang asked.

"You're nephew's a Faunus?" Blake and Ilia asked together.

 _We're going to be aunts?_ Weiss and Ruby thought together.

"What's going on!" Nora demanded. Before Jaune could answer any of those questions, what literally looked the rainbow burst from the door, and tackled him down to the street. The group all took a step back as seven girls, all older than Jaune piled on top of him.

"I'm so glad you're here!" red said.

"I thought you weren't coming!" orange said.

"I'm going to kick your ass for making us worry like this!" green said.

"How could you be so dumb like this?" cyan said.

"Get ready!" first blue said.

"You're going to be in for it now!" second blue said.

"I'm so happy to see you!" violet said. RYP and BRWN and the others could only stare in confusion at the sight of the seven girls and their teammate.

"Wait…," Ruby said, "Are these…" Then she paused as she looked from the girls to Jaune, to back again. They all had the same blonde hair, and large blue eyes her boyfriend did. Her eyes lit up happily.

"Weiss!" she said, grabbing her friend's arm, "We're meeting Jaune's family!" Weiss didn't seem so thrilled, as she just stared at her potential in laws.

"Hey, guys," Jaune just said having long since gotten used to this kind of behavior from his sisters, "Good to see you all too."

"Why are you in Argus?" Saphron, the second oldest, asked.

"It's kind of a long story," Jaune said.

"Well, you're going to have to tell us all about it later!" Violet said.

"You look tougher," Jade said, as she overlooked Jaune's muscles, "We're going to have to sprawl later."

"Jade, please no," Jaune moaned.

"I hope you learned something from all this," Cyan said, as she stood back, adjusting her glasses slightly, "I'd rather not have to deal with your silly questions."

"Girls!" a stern voice called. Immediately, all the Arc sisters left their brother alone, as they stood up straight to face a tall, older woman with long blonde hair tied into a bun and blue eyes. She was dressed in a grey shirt with blue jeans. One her shirt was a quote that read, "I had eight kids, don't test me".

"Give your brother some space," she said, flicking her wrist slightly, as the seven quickly parted allowing the woman to descend.

"Hey Mom," Jaune said, as he rubbed his arm. Rain Arc walked up to her youngest, as she looked him over. She lifted up his arm, as if to examine his muscles the way Jade did. She then took her chin, and looked him over.

"Have you been eating well?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jaune answered after a moment. After what just happened with the Wendigo, he didn't want to really think about eating at the moment.

"Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"I'm trying to." Rain looked at her son closely, before she embraced him tightly.

"It's good to see you sweetie," she said softly.

"You too, Mom," Jaune answered, returning the hug. The Arc daughters also came close, and hugged their baby brother. Ruby and Weiss smiled at the sight of their boyfriend with his family. It was hard not to honestly.

"Well," a new voice said from the stairs, "That's a sight for sore eyes." Standing by the door was a tall man with broad shoulders, and a bald head. He had blue eyes as well, and his face looked weathered. He had a scar under his lip, and was wearing a grey shirt with blue jeans like his wife.

"Hey Dad," Jaune said, as his female family let him go, and he approached the foot of the stairs. Alistair Arc descended the stairs, as he looked at his son. He then glanced at Corcea Mors on Jaune's hip.

"I take it you've been taking care of it," he said.

"Yes, Sir," Jaune answered. For a moment, he was quite, until Alistair put a hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"I knew I made the right choice letting you have it," he said.

"Thanks Dad," Jaune said, standing up a little straighter.

"So," Rain said, as she turned to look at the group Jaune's traveling companions, "Which one of these beautiful young women is going to be ninth daughter?"

"We're getting another sister?" Violet asked excitedly as she turned to look at the girls.d

"Mom!" Jaune cried out, as Weiss and Ruby both turned the same color of Ruby's skirt.

 **Note: So after so long, Drago from Team DRKE is back, and he seems to be getting into league with Cinder. That can't be good. And to top it all off, the same silver mist Salem was speaking to is stalking them.**

 **Considering how each of the Arc children represented a different color of the rainbow, I figured it would be suitable for their parents to wear grey, neutral colors that sit in between black and white, the two color extremes.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	73. Explanation

_**Explanation**_

After some walking, Cinder was brought to a small cottage deep in Mistral. She was certainly suspicious, and didn't trust Drago by any stretch, but as was established earlier, as capable as he may have been, he was definitely no where near her level as a Maiden. Drago knocked on the door, and after a moment, it opened.

"Come on," Drago said, gesturing for her to come in. After a moment, Cinder did so. When she did, she was greeted by two other people sitting/standing around a table in the center of the otherwise empty room. Both were bird Faunus, one with black wings under his arms, and another with red plumage on her head.

"We're back," Drago announced, getting their attention.

"Mhmmm," the vulture Faunus said, eyeing the new arrival, "This the one you told us about?"

"You didn't say she was a human," the other one said, glaring at Cinder, as she stood up straight.

"I didn't because you were the only one who cared," Drago answered, before glancing at Cinder, "This is Slate Skek, and Carmine Grant; Slate, Carmine, this is Cinder Fall." The two eyed Cinder suspiciously, who returned it. While Cinder didn't recognize the vulture, she recognized Carmine as one of the (now former) Imperial Guard, who had tried to kill the Empress.

"Well, it is all truly wonderful to meet you," Cinder said, "But I fail to see what this has to do with me."

"It's simple," Drago answered, "Every person in this room wants those Beacon students dead."

"Is that so?" Cinder answered, as she overlooked the group, before looking at Drago, "May I ask why? Something tells me the price Watts put on them is no longer in effect."

"I don't care about the money, not anymore," Drago answered bitterly, "The rest of my team is dead anyway."

"I had a sense of that," Cinder said, "So if the money isn't what you're in for, why do you want them dead now? Why do any of you want them dead?" The lizard and the birds were silent for a time, as they exchanged glances.

"My group was tracking four of those kids on the way here to Mistral," he said, "However, we were intercepted by a Basilisk on the road; I was the only survivor. I can't kill the Basilisk, but I can kill the kids who started this whole thing for us."

"Accursed Belladonna and lying Amitola ruined ambitions and efforts," Slate said as he spread his hands, "Only fair repay debt." Cinder's eyes then turned to Carmine, who was glaring at the table.

"I can't kill the Empress now," she said, as she moved her glare to the ceiling, "But maybe I can kill those who got in my way." All simple enough reasons for revenge Cinder supposed, as she rubbed her chin slightly.

"I see," the Maiden said, arching her eyebrow, "But let me add another question to the matter: why should I be interested in working with any of you?"

"Because you need us," Drago said bluntly. At that, Cinder actually laughed.

"You think _I_ need _you_?" she sneered, "You said you knew what I as capable of."

"I do, and we all also know what those students are capable of," Drago answered, causing Cinder to stop laughing, "You know, I was watching when you fought that serpentine dragon in the sky. You didn't do so well then there if memory serves." Cinder's teeth clenched at that, as her glare hardened.

"You can't take them all alone," Carmine said.

"And you think you can?" Cinder responded.

"I don't care about 'taking them'," Carmine said, as she put her foot on the table, showing the metal claws on her boots, "All I want to do is kill them; I'll take slitting their throats in their sleep."

"Exactly," Drago said, "Killing them is all that matters. We can and will find a way to do so, just you wait." Cinder was silent as she considered all of that. Were she being honest, they did have a point; doing this alone would likely be a lot more difficult than doing it with a team. Did Cinder trust them? Of course not, but she didn't trust half the people she worked with, and that hadn't stopped her before.

"Very well then," she said, as she stood up straight and took a step forward, "I think we've got a plan." Drago smiled darkly, as he offered a hand, which Cinder took.

" _Oh, how naive you four are."_ Immediately, the whole group was on guard at the phantom voice that echoed through the room, with Cinder manifesting a ball of fire in each hand.

" _Oh, put those away child, they're useless against me."_ Somehow, that didn't make the Maiden feel any more secure.

"Show yourself!" Drago demanded.

" _Quite yourself, little lizard,"_ the voice hissed. That was when silver mist started to gather at their feet.

"Who are you?" Cinder asked. There was then a sinister sounding laugh, that seemed to be coming from the mist. With that, the mist gathered up, and coalesced into a figure. The figure was tall, and masculine, with silver skin, with dark hair that was in a long braid. He had golden bracelets on his hands, and wore golden shorts with a golden vest with a golden circlet on the crown of his head. But the trait Cinder was the most drawn to were his eyes; they were a brilliant silver color, that reminded Cinder too much of the eyes of Ruby Rose, though his sclera was black instead of white.

"What are you?" Cinder rephrased. She had witness a number of strange creatures and monsters in her time with Salem, but even she had never seen a creature like that.

" _I am Vishnu, High Spirit of Preservation, created by the God of Light to preserve and protect his creation,"_ the being said, as he leaned down to the four _, "And I have a proposition for all of you…"_

 **(in Argus)**

" _Hey Mom! I've got two girlfriends!"_

That wasn't exactly how Jaune had broke the news to his family, but it may as well been, considering the way they reacted. The Arcs were all sitting in Saphron's living room, with Jaune sitting in the middle, being stared down by his parents and sisters. Adrian was in his grandmother's lap, curious why all these people were around while his cousins were sent outside by their mother to play; several of the girls in the team (including Ilia) made mental notes to swoon about how cute he was. Some of the girls in the group made mental notes to gush over how cute he was.

The introductions had gone fairly well actually up until this point. Milly, as it turned out, had two other children, two five year old girls, Lapis and Lazuli. They were also octopus Faunus, but unlike their brother, they had yellow tentacles with blue rings on it, and had been quite excited with Flynn when they found out Ilia and Blake were Faunus themselves. Learning that Jaune had family who were Faunus proved rather surprising for both girls, especially Ilia. A human and a Faunus getting married and having a family? While Blake felt it rather assuring (proof that they weren't so different), Ilia felt all sorts of emotions. It didn't feel right honestly; she felt disgusted about those emotions, but couldn't help but feel that way.

The whole of the group, save for Weiss and Ruby, who were sitting on either side of Jaune, were on the edge of the room, trying to deal with the awkwardness of all that was going on. Blake was standing on the other side of the bookshelf, with Ilia all but hiding behind her, while Nora was chewing on an apple she pilfered from the fridge. Ren would've tried to stop her, but he doubted she'd listen. Oscar and Qrow were standing the furthest away. As for Yang….

The blonde hadn't be pleased when she found out Jaune was now with Ruby _and_ Weiss. Much to the contrary, she was very _dis_ pleased. She wasn't opposed to Ruby getting a boyfriend, but she wanted her to have one who would devote all attention to her, not split it with another girl. Pyrrha was keeping her back for a time, though.

"Do we have to be here for this?" Nora muttered between bites. Ren elbowed her slightly.

"You know, when I married a Faunus, I thought that would be the thing I'd get the most stupidity from people for," Milly commented, "Not Jaune being a playboy." She would've said "crap", but didn't want Saphron getting mad at her for using that kind of language in front of her son.

"I'm actually surprised our baby brother was able to attract a mate in the first place," Azure said. Rain would've scolded her daughter for that, but not in the mood she was in.

"Jaune," the Arc matriarch said very cooly, as she shifted Adrian's position in her lap, "You know how your father and I had a successful relationship?"

"Uh…"

"We committed to each other!" Rain all but hissed, "We gave each other our complete and undivided love and affection."

"Mom…"

"Seriously, what were you thinking?" Saphron asked, "Think of what kind of example you're setting to your nieces and nephews!"

"If it's worth anything, I didn't plan it go this way," Jaune said.

"Oh, well then that makes it all better!" Jade said, her voice oozing sarcasm.

"I actually had a lot of trouble finding a girlfriend in Beacon," Jaune continued, "I followed Dad's advice…"

"Alistair!" Rain scolded, as the man's female relatives all suddenly looked at him, "You had him use your pickup lines? No wonder he had such trouble!" The Arc patriarch just coughed into his hand briefly, and averted his eyes.

"Well, I'll deal with that later," Rain said, as she stood up, shifting her grandson in her arms, "But in the meantime, I can't say how disappointed I am in you. Did everything I teach really mean nothing? I mean…"

"Please don't get mad at him, Mrs. Arc!" Eyes were suddenly on Ruby, who decided to finally come to her boyfriend's defense. Everyone was rather surprised she had the courage to interrupt Rain Arc.

"Yes, if I you wish to get angry at anyone, let it be us!" Weiss added, as she also came to Jaune's defense.

"This whole thing was our idea," Ruby said, though after a glance from Weiss, she amended, "Okay, it was _my_ idea. We both liked him, and so then we agreed to confess to him at the same time, but then we got all tied up in a train, then we had to walk the rest of the way on foot where we ended up at a cabin…."

"The long and short of it is that we both confessed to him," Weiss interrupted, sparing the Arc family from anymore of Ruby's ramblings, "We put him in the classic, but honestly rather cruel scenario of being forced to choose between two different women. But he said that he couldn't choose between the two of us, at the risk of choosing one, and then breaking the other's heart."

"So I suggested we try and both date him," Ruby said, "It really was just my idea."

"These two girls are some of the nicest, and all around _good_ women on the planet," Jaune said, as he stood up, "I thought if they cared about me enough to want to try something like this, then I figured that there may be no harm in trying."

"And…," Ruby said, stepping forward as well, "If things really don't work out, then…." Her voice faltered, but she took a deep breath.

"Then I'll be the one to step away," she said softly. That surprised everyone, including Jaune and Weiss.

"Ruby," Jaune said softly, while Weiss could only stare in surprise. The Arcs all looked at Ruby, taking what she said in, as Yang also stared at her, considering what she had said. Rain then stepped forward, handing Adrian to his Aunt Violet as she did, as she slowly approached Ruby, who was suddenly deeply interested in the floor.

"This is certainly not how I envisioned getting more daughters," Rain said, as Jaune and Weiss joined Ruby in looking at the floor, before sighing, "But if you're all sincere about these about these feelings, I suppose there's nothing I can do to stop you." That got all three people to look up at that.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Arc!" Ruby said happily, as she gave another one of her classic, huge smiles. The sight of that smile made Rain's eyes widen, as she began to sake slightly.

"You're… you're so cute!" Rain said, as she suddenly hugged her.

"Gah! Mrs. Arc!" Ruby said, flailing her arms around.

"Oh no, you're going to call me 'Mom'!" Rain said, as she continued to hug her. Then her gaze was shifted to Weiss, who suddenly moved herself behind Jaune. Rain then all but threw Ruby to the mercy of her daughters, as her gaze zeroed in on Weiss.

"Jaune," she said, as she tired to shelter herself behind her boyfriend, "Please…."

"Sorry, Weiss," Jaune said, "But when my mom wants something…" He then stepped aside, leaving Weiss to be lost in the embrace of one Rain Arc. Meanwhile, Ruby was being surrounded by Jaune's seven sisters, as they analyzed their potential new sister.

"What's you're favorite food?" Saphron asked.

"What's your favorite movie?" Violet asked.

"What's your favorite way of fighting?" Jade asked.

"What's your favorite book?" Cyan asked. Ruby could only make various "uh" sounds as she tried to think of anything real to say. Meanwhile, with his wife and daughters hoarding his son's girlfriends, Alistair took an opportunity to approach Jaune.

"You know," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I wasn't being serious when I told you to use those pickup lines."

"You weren't?" Jaune answered.

"Just tell your mother that if you can," Alistair said, patting his son on his back, as the two watched the women in their life buzz about. Fortunately for Ruby and Weiss, the front door opened.

"I just don't get the appeal, of it," Terra said as she stepped inside, followed by a Faunus about Jaune's height with four green tentacles with dark green hair. He was wearing an aviators jacket over a green shirt with jeans. Terra was carrying a grocery bag in each arm, while he was carrying one in each arm and in each tentacle.

"How can you not?" Hunter Tako, the husband of Vermillion Arc, answered, "It's giant monsters fighting giant robots, its like… Jaune?" The two looked up to see their brother-in-law in Terra's living room.

"Hey Terra! Hey Hunter!" Jaune said, greeting his in-laws.

"I didn't know you'd be coming," Terra said, as she set down the bags, so she could hug him.

"I didn't know either," Saphron answered, as she went to help her wife with the bags while Milly did the same for her husband so he could give Jaune his own hug.

"You're looking good," Hunter said, "Seems Beacon did right by you."

"Thanks, Hunter," Jaune said.

"Hey hon!" Saphron said, "Guess what?"

"What?" Terra responded.

"Adrian's going to be getting more cousins!" Saphron said excitedly.

"Saph!" Jaune cried out, as Weiss and Ruby both turned red.

 **Note: Cinder's now meeting up not just with Drago, but with Slate and Carmine as well. And they're meeting up with another High Spirit. That makes three out of four of them revealed; that just leaves the red one.**

 **Going into the Jaune's family, I knew it would raise some eyebrows amongst them if Jaune showed up with** _ **two**_ **girlfriends, so I decided to try and knock that conflict out in one chapter. It would've added extra baggage to the story if it had gone on longer, and weighed the main conflict down. And at any rate, I'm going to take this as opportunity to indicate that while the romance will have a presence, it won't have a major one. It will be an additive to the plot, something to give it a little bit more flavor. Not to say it won't be coming up in the future in big ways, though…**

 **Be sure to review.**

 **Something to know, is that I've recently edited a few of the previous chapters (namely 67 and 71). I wasn't entirely happy with the way they turned out, so I did some edits on them. Props again to Simply Christian for giving me the idea for editing 71.**


	74. A Day in Argus

_**A Day in Argus**_

Darkness stood before what remained of his personal shrine. It wasn't hit the same way his brother's was when the moon was destroyed, so it was virtually unchanged after the ages had past.

" **This place is imposing, ominous, and oppressive. And you wondered why mortals would never come to you."** Darkness just grunted as Light came up behind him. He had nothing to say to him at this point.

" **The mortals greatest flaw has always been their fear,"** Light continued, as he stood beside Darkness **, "Fear of things that are different, fear of what they can't control…"**

" **Fear of losing what they love,"** Darkness finished for his brother **, "The fear of death is merely an extension of that. That is why they wanted our power for themselves. They wouldn't know what to do with such power even if they could obtain it."** Light looked into the black pool that his brother would dwell in, so different yet so similar to his own.

" **Speaking of power, tell me, why did you take what you gave those mortals away from them?"** he inquired. Darkness was silent for a moment.

" **They wanted me gone, I obliged their request"** he said **, "And if that was the case, why should they keep the favors I gave them."**

" **They will have difficulties without the magic you gave them."** Darkness knew that to be an understatement, but didn't say anything at that.

" **At any rate…"**

" **No."** Light looked to his brother, as if surprised by his interruption.

" **Let me ask you a question this time, brother,"** Darkness said **, "Why did you not stop me when I committed the act?"** This time, it was the God of Light who was at a loss for words, as his hands fell to his side.

" **Do not assign all the blame for the state of things to me, then,"** Darkness said, passing him **, "You did not do anything to alleviate the situation."** The God of Light watched him pass, before he slowly followed him. They walked down the path, looking around at the Grimm that still frequented the shrine.

" **It seems your spawn are no less populace than they were in the past,"** Light commented **, "More so, it would appear."** Darkness did not immediately respond, as he looked over his creations. It brought a thought to his mind that had been pulling within him for sometime now. The mortals were wrong to call his creations (for which he had no name) "evil"; they were above, or perhaps more aptly _beneath_ good and evil. They had no moral agenda, as they lacked the ability to make any distinction between right and wrong. They were no more "evil" than a storm or any other form of natural disaster. In his age, they would attack mortals who strayed too far from the path, while the more daring ones would sometimes try to attack the occasional village, and the largest would sometimes attack a city. But they never exclusively targeted mortals and their settlements, and Darkness did not create them with the ability to sense and act on mortal emotions.

" **Could she have…. no, that would be impossible,"** Darkness muttered to himself. He had been wondering if Salem would be able to alter the creatures on such a level, but while she may have been able to manipulate their appearance (that would have been really easy), to alter them on such a level would've been beyond her power. Could his brother's own spawn have been responsible for such things?

" **Come, brother,"** Darkness said, gesturing **, "We have much to discuss."** With that, the two siblings turned into energy again, and vanished into the sky.

 **(in the Cotta-Arc household)**

With all the various introductions dealt with, the team was starting to settle in for their stay. Hopefully it wouldn't be a long stay, but they needed a plan first. Oz and Qrow had gone down to the Atlesian base to try and get them going out. Pyrrha had left to go visit her parents, and Yang had opted to come with her; Blake had gone with Cyan to a bookstore, and Ilia had opted to accompany her; Nora had gone to the park with Jade, eager to test her mettle against Jaune's fighter sister, while Ren went with her to ensure people didn't get caught in the crossfire. That left Ruby and Weiss, who were inside with Rain, Vermillion, Saphron, and Violet being shown the family album (there were also the twins in blue, and no one knew where they were). Milly had Adrian in her lap, who was screwing around with one of his baby toys.

"Jaune really slept with a stuffed dragon?" Ruby asked, as she looked at one picture which showed a ten year old Jaune sleeping with a red plush dragon.

"Sure did," Milly answered with a smile, "He called him Sparky. He slept with him up until he left for Beacon."

"That's so cute!" Ruby said. Weiss agreed, but figured she wasn't in any place to tease (she may have had her own stuffed Ursa she had brought to Beacon, she may have had to leave in Atlas when she left, and she _may have_ really missed it).

"You should've seen Jaune when Saphron tried to take Sparky for Adrian," Violet said, "I don't think I've ever seen our baby brother so possessive about anything aside from Corcea Mors."

"Speaking of the youngest member of the family," Milly said, as she held up Adrian. She glanced at his mother for permission, who nodded it, before Milly held the baby out for Weiss.

"Are you sure?" Weiss asked hesitantly. Milly chuckled at that slightly.

"You sound like Jaune when Flynn was born," Milly said, "It's fine, just support his head." After a moment, Weiss took the baby, who looked up at Weiss with a smile. Despite herself, Weiss couldn't help but swoon.

"You are the cutest thing in the whole wide world!" Weiss said, as she held Adrian up.

"Careful," Saphron joked, "You're not going to steal my baby are you?"

"I just might have to," Weiss said, as she cuddled with the boy who could very easily become her nephew. Ruby smiled at the sight, as she eagerly awaited her turn with the baby. As she did, though, thoughts drifted into her head. While it was obviously way to early think about things like kids (Ruby was only 16 for Darkness' sake), she couldn't help those thoughts coming to her head. How would this "two girlfriend" scenario work when they wanted to take the relationship further? Ruby shook her head slightly to clear those thoughts; they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

She then glanced out the window into the backyard, where Jaune was playing with Flynn and his nieces. They were playing their own version of keep away, with the octopuses scrambling around with their ball. Their uncle _may_ have been letting them win, which Ruby found all the cuter.

 _Some day_ she thought to herself.

 **(somewhere else in Argus)**

"It's right up here," Pyrrha said, pointing, as she rode on the back of Yang's motorcycle pulled up in front of the Nikos residence. The two dismounted, as Pyrrha rolled her prosthetic slightly.

"You good?" Yang asked.

"Yeah," Pyrrha asked, "Leg just hurts a bit." She didn't let the conversation go any further, as she came up to the door, and opened.

"Mom! Dad!" Pyrrha called, as she stepped in, "I'm home!"

"Pyrrha!" Thetis said happily as she burst out of the kitchen, and hurried over to her daughter to hug her, "I didn't think you'd be home so soon."

"Honestly we just got here," Pyrrha explained, "Us and our friends are trying to get passage to Atlas. I'm staying with Ms. Saphron. Turns out she's my teammate's sister."

"Oh, well I should send her and Terra my thanks," Thetis said with a smile. That was when she noticed Yang.

"And who is this lovely young woman?" she asked. Yang smiled after a moment, and waved.

"Hi," she said, "My name's Yang Xiao Long, I'm Pyrrha's partner."

"Well, please come in," Thetis said, gesturing, "I just made some coffee." Yang was all to happy to do so, as she came into the living room, taking a seat on the couch beside Pyrrha as Thetis came in with some filled cups.

"Unfortunately your father's out right now," she said.

"I can come back tomorrow, before we leave," Pyrrha answered with a smile as she took her cup. Her mother was happy to hear that, as she handed another one to Yang, where she noticed Yang's arm.

"I notice you have your own prosthetic," Thetis said, as Yang took the cup, "I guess that makes you a perfect sort of partner for my girl."

"Lost it about the same time as she lost her leg," Yang said, flexing her mechanical fingers, "I was lucky, at least I could move without issue."

"At least I could carry things without issue," Pyrrha said, "I think you had it worse than me. I was the lucky one." Thetis chuckled slightly; it was oh so like her daughter to protest something like that. But then that smile faded as a thought came to her.

"You weren't on that train that was attacked by Grimm, were you?" she said, as she leaned forward. Pyrrha and Yang stopped "arguing", before they looked at each other.

"We… may have been on that train," Yang said after a pause

"By the gods!" Thetis gasped. Both Pyrrha and Yang involuntarily winced at the mention of the gods, as their memories shifted back to Darkness. It had been a couple days since he took away their powers, and the empty feeling they had inside themselves still hadn't gone away.

"Well…," Pyrrha said as she found some words, "We were all alright if its worth anything. We spent the night after in an old farmhouse a couple hours South of here." She decided to omit the part about the Wendigo and the Spirit, figuring her mom didn't need the added stress of knowing her daughter and her team dealt with a particularly monstrous form of Grimm.

"It's good to be back though," Pyrrha added.

"And it's good to have you back here," Thetis answered with a smile, "You should've seen Dana the days after you left. I thought I'd have to call the police with how many times she kept knocking on our door."

"Dana?" Yang asked.

"My old agent," Pyrrha answered, "Not the best of people."

"I'll make a mental note to kick her ass if I ever see her," Yang said, sipping her coffee again. Pyrrha was worried her otherwise polite mother would disapprove of such language, but Thetis just laughed slightly.

"I like this one," she said. Despite herself, Pyrrha couldn't but slightly chuckle as well.

 **(in downtown Argus)**

If she was being completely honest, Ilia wasn't much of a reader. True, she read when the impulse struck her, but compared to Blake, not as much. So she was sort of resigned to halfheartedly browse the science fiction and fantasy sections while Blake and Cyan shifted through pretty much every genre section in every bookstore.

"Have you read this?" Blake asked, holding out a copy of _Howling at the Moon_.

"I have," Cyan answered, as she turned her attention back to the book shelf, adjusting her glasses slightly, "Though being completely honest, I'm not a fan of that author's style." Blake shrugged slightly, as she returned the book to it's place on the shelf to continue browsing.

"It's good to finally know someone who shares at least some of my interests," she said, "Weiss always says my tastes are…. vulgar." That wasn't actually true, her word had been "filthy".

"There is nothing at all vulgar about mature themes," Cyan said sternly, waving a finger.

"Thank you," Blake said. Ilia, who was overhearing all this, just rolled her eyes slightly as she kept reading the fantasy book she had found.

"Though I haven't had much time to read lately," Cyan said, "I've been too busy writing."

"You're a writer?" Blake asked, her eyes widening as she noticed _Ninjas of Love_ on the shelf.

"I am," Cyan answered, before she noticed the one Blake was carrying, "Ah yes, _Ninjas of Love_."

"Ah yes, a personal favorite," Blake said, looking at it, "I can't wait for the sequel."

"I've been trying to write the sequel, but I've been having trouble writing lately," Cyan said. Blake froze in her tracks, as she looked at her friend's sister, who paused as she seemed to realize what she had just said, as she turned bright red, which Ilia felt complimented her hair and clothes as she peered around the corner. Blake looked at the book she was holding, then at Cyan.

"Wait!" Blake said, as her eyes widened, "You're Arc Cyanblood?" Cyan did't say anything, as she shifted on her feet.

"I've read all your books!" Blake said. Despite herself, Ilia couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Well, thank you," Cyan answered.

"I have to buy this book," Blake said, looking at the book in her hands.

"I thought you already had a copy."

"I do, but I need to get one with the author's autograph!" Cyan would've protested, but figured that would've just been rude, so she didn't, and when Blake came back with the bought book, she proceeded to promptly sign it.

"Why haven't you been working on the sequel?" Blake then asked. Cyan averted her eyes as she coughed slightly.

"My mother doesn't necessarily approve of the works I write," she explained, "And Vermillion always gets angry when I write it in the same room as her children. And that's saying nothing of Saphron, who won't even let me write while I'm here."

"Oh, that's a shame," Blake said.

"That's a way of putting it," Ilia muttered.

"What?" Blake asked.

"Nothing," Ilia said, not even bothering to hide her smile.

 **(at the Cotta-Arc household)**

Last time Jaune had seen Flynn and his nieces, they had been five and four respectively before he left for Beacon. While they hadn't grown much, that didn't seem to discourage them from thinking they had.

"I'm going to beat you now, Uncle Jaune!" Flynn said, as he wrapped his tentacles around Jaune's arm, and hoisted himself up to his uncle's shoulder. Jaune just laughed slightly as he held up his arm, not bothered by the weight of his nephew, who managed to hoist himself onto his arm.

"Go easy on your uncle, kiddo," Jaune said, "I've been really busy lately."

"Have you been fighting monsters?" Lapis asked, as she hugged Jaune's leg.

"I sure have."

"What're the monsters like?" Lazuli asked, as she came up to his other leg.

"Scary," Jaune said. Fortunately, the kids didn't press the question. That was certainly true, but he sure has hell wasn't going to tell them about creatures like the Wendigo. He wasn't thrilled by the prospect of Milly and Hunter yelling at him for giving their kids nightmares.

"But Mommy and Daddy say you aren't scarred of anything," Lapis said.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Weiss said as she and Ruby came outside, Adrian still in Weiss' arms.

"Aunt Ruby!" Lazuli said happily, as she ran up to them, "Aunt Weiss!"

""Aunt'?" both girls echoed in surprise.

"Yup!" Lazuli said, smiling, "That's what Mommy told me to call you!"

"That seems a little… premature," Weiss said, as she shifted her head to make sure Adrian to grab her ponytail.

"I ain't complaining," Ruby said, as she picked up Lazuli, "I wouldn't mind having a cutie like this as my niece." She tickled Lazuli slightly, causing her to laugh gleefully. She stayed out there with Jaune and Weiss for a time, until they got word that Oz and Qrow had gotten back.

"So, what's the news?" Jaune asked, once he and the girls were back inside. The two adults (okay, more accurate the adult and the adult in a teen's body) exchanged looks with each other, before Qrow sighed, and pulled out his flask.

"Well," he said, "No one said this was gonna be easy."

 **Note: I originally had that snippet with Darkness last chapter, but with everything that happened last chapter, it ended up losing it's impact. So I put it in an otherwise quiet chapter like this one to give it the proper room to breath.**

 **Most of this chapter was indeed meant to be quiet one; mostly to depict where the group stands in Argus at the time, and to expand a little on a couple of Jaune's sisters. I've seen that concept of Jaune's sister being the author of Blake's favorite books done a couple times in other stories, and I found that I liked the idea, so I decided to include that there. I plugged "Cyan Arc" into an online name generator, and took the most obvious one I could find. I had considered the idea of including the scene with Nora and Jade, but I found it would've been too short to really be anything.**

 **I hope we get to see the rest of the "Seven". If anything would make for a good character short, it would Jaune with his sisters. Alas, I don't think RT cares enough about him anymore to do something like that.**

 **Little tidbit, I also still have my own security item, a blanket I had since I was three years old; its more a rag than a blanket now, but it still means a lot to me. I don't sleep with it anymore, but I still have it with me, even in the Air Force. Please don't judge me.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	75. Date Night

_**Date Night**_

Adam ran his hand alone the side of the collapsed train. He had on a new mask, one giving to him by Mnemosyne, that was black, with red eyes and orange markings, and the crown Mnemosyne had given him now sat atop his head. Adam inhaled deeply through the nose, as he growled. He could smell both Blake and Ilia, and the humans that accompanied them. His arm started to shake slightly.

" _Calm yourself,"_ Mnemosyne said, as she floated up beside the bull _, "Don't go losing control just yet."_ Adam just growled again, but took a breath to calm himself. He looked around; unfortunately there were no tracks with the snowfall, and the scent was somewhat muted. Meanwhile, Mnemosyne floated through the area; her smile faded into a frown. She could sense the memory of a presence, a familiar one.

" _Sister,"_ she muttered.

"What?" Adam asked, glancing towards one of his creators.

" _Nothing of your concern,"_ the Spirit of Memory answered _, "They were here, of that there can be no doubt. This place remembers them."_

"So where did they go?" Adam asked, approaching her.

" _Find them yourself,"_ Mnemosyne said, as she floated up and away _, "I'm not your guide."_ Adam scowled, as he sniffed the air again. He couldn't smell much on the air, but he inhaled and exhaled, before walking down the road. He wasn't sure how or why, but he knew that was the right way to go.

 **(in the Cotta-Arc household)**

"So that's it then?" Ilia said.

"Unfortunately, that's how it seems," Oz answered, "We certainly won't be getting any help from the Atlesians here."

The whole of the group was in the Cotta-Arc living room, discussing their next course of action. Some of them felt a little bad for the Arcs, kicking them out, but Rain and Alistair understood, and took the family out for the day.

"Maybe I could go?" Weiss suggested, "I mean, the middle child of the SDC needing to get somewhere might force the issue slightly."

"We tried name dropping you," Qrow said, "The garrison commander didn't believe us."

"I could go back with you."

"I've dealt with people like her before," Oz said, "I don't think there's anything we could do to get her to helps short of saving the city from an army of Grimm."

"So, what do we do now?" Nora asked.

"For the time being, we don't have much in the way of options," Oz explained, "I think all we can do is bide our time, and try thinking of ideas." Jaune wasn't thrilled by the prospect of imposing on Terra and Saphron like this, but Oz was right when he said their options were limited.

"Well, I say for the time we adjourn and take some time to clear our heads," Oz said, as he rose to his feet, "If there's nothing…"

"Hey Professor." Eyes were suddenly drawn to Jaune, who was sitting on the sofa with Weiss leaning against him.

"Yes, Mr. Arc?"

"There's… something that's been bothering me for a while," Jaune said, "I didn't want to bring up at the farm with who tense everything was, but I can't help it now."

"What is it?"

"Jinn said you asked her who to defeat Salem," Jaune said, "But she said we can't. Just what is your plan to beat Salem?" The air suddenly turned as thick as cement, as all eyes were now on Oz, who had tensed up visibly.

" _Professor…,"_ Oscar said slowly.

"I'll…. I'll confess," Oz said, "I don't have a conventional plan to kill Salem." With that, the hearts and faces of everyone crashes to the ground (and llia turned an unpleasant shade of grey). So that was it then? They had no way of beating Salem? How were they supposed to win this? Was any of this really worth anything?

"I know what you are going through," Oz suddenly said, getting their attention, "I once went through it myself for a while. But I learned long ago that trying to permanently defeat Salem is an exercise in futility. It's not great power or a grand strategy that slows the advance of evil, rather it's small acts of kindness and decency. Things that keep hope alive. I established the Huntsmen Academies as a way of fostering unity and hope throughout Remnant. I knew I could never defeat Salem, not on my own at least, but every day that she remains at bay is a success in my mind." The students listened to their professor in silence, considering his words. A number of them wanted to be mad at Oz for keeping these kinds of secrets from them though they supposed if his goal was to encourage positivity, maybe there was something to keeping those kinds of secrets, and at any rate, it was small stuff compared to what Darkness had been hiding from them.

"So, is there anyway?" Ren asked. Oz sighed slightly.

"The gods cursed Salem," he said, "I can only imagine that only they can undo the curse."

"The gods," Pyrrha muttered, causing them to all remember their teacher, or perhaps their _former_ teacher. Who knew where Darkness had gone now.

"What about the Spirits?" Blake asked, "We've met Jinn, but there are still three other High Spirits out there."

"And if the Spirits we've met are anything to on," Ilia added, "I imagine they aren't friendly."

"I'm afraid I only learned about the Spirits recently myself," Oz said, tapping his cane on the floor slightly, "I have no idea what they want, let alone how to defeat them." Ruby reached onto her belt, where she had been carrying the Relic of Knowledge. They could always just as Jinn about the Spirits, but they only had one question left.

"If Darkness was here…," Jaune said softly. All of the rest of RYPJ and BRWN visibly tensed up at that. The didn't doubt that he may have been able to give them some kind of answer. But he was gone, and he had taken his magic with him. It had been some time now, and they still had an empty feeling inside of them; like a part of their very being had been taken away from them.

"Again, I can only advice you all to rest, and clear your thoughts," Oz said, "Take this as time to think about what you seek for yourselves." His eyes flashed yellow, as Oscar took back over.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"No damn idea," Qrow said, as he got to his feet, and walked right out of the house. Right after he was gone, as if on cue, the door opened back up, as the rest of the Arc family came back in.

"We're home!" Rain announced. Taking that as a cue to disband, the group spread apart, while Jaune went over to Saphron and Terra.

"Hey Saph," Jaune said, "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Saphron asked, cocking her head.

"I need advice," Jaune said after a moment. Saphron opened her mouth, paused, and made an "o" face. Terra just chuckled.

"Let me put this guy down for a nap," she said, as she took Adrian from Saphron's arms, "I think it might be best if you talk this out sister-brother." Saphron didn't protest, as she leaned on the wall, thinking.

"Well, I guess the best advice I can offer is to treat those girls right," she said, "Not that I've ever really had to worry about that with you."

"Ah look!" Azure said, as she almost materialized on her brother's right shoulder, "Our baby brother's trying to get girl advice!"

"It's cute isn't it?" Aoki said as she appeared on his other shoulder.

"Can you two please give me and Saphron some space?" Jaune said.

"No way in heck!" Azure said with a smirk.

"We ain't giving up a testing opportunity like this… GAH!" She was silenced when Violet came over and yanked her by the ponytail.

"Uh-uh," Violet said, "I'm not letting you two get in the way of more nieces and nephews." She proceeded to drag Aoki away by the hair, while Azure, not as inclined to pursue the teasing with her twin, followed.

"What's this about Jaune needing girl advice?" Alistair said as he approached. Saphron groaned at that slightly.

"Dad," she said, "I think…"

"Son, if you want girl advice…," Alistair began, as he put his hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Oh no," Rain said, as she blocked her husband, "I will not have Jaune at the mercy of your bad tactics." She then looked at her son.

"Sweetheart," she said, "The best advice I can offer is to do whatever you can to make them happy. Despite what your father may have taught you, that's how we've stayed married for thirty years now." Jaune looked back to Ruby and Weiss, who were talking. He then got an idea…

 **(sometime later)**

Ilia sat outside on the patio, watching Jade and Violet Arc playing with Flynn, Lapis, and Lazuli, contemplating everything that happened to her in the fast couple weeks. If she had told the Ilia from just a month that she'd be on an adventure with humans tons ave the world from an ancient evil cursed by the gods, that chameleon would've laughed in her face. And yet here she was. It still didn't seem real as she looked up at the sky above her.

"You look like you could use some company." Ilia looked, to see Hunter coming up her, holding two cups of tea.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

"Sure," Ilia answered, after a moment, as she scooted over on the bench so Hunter could sit down next to her, offering her one of the cups, which she took. She glanced over at Hunter as she sipped it, surprised by the taste.

"Is this Menagerie tea?" she asked.

"It is," Hunter answered with a nod, "They've actually got in the grocery store here." Ilia wasn't sure why that surprised her, but it did.

"Do you miss Menagerie?" she then asked.

"Oh, I'm not from Menagerie," Hunter said, shaking his head. Now that did really surprise Ilia, and this time she knew why.

"I was born and grew up Reflection, like Milly," Hunter explained, "I've never even been to Menagerie."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, humans aren't exactly welcome there," the octopus answered, "And I'm not going anywhere unless I know my wife can come with me."

"Your wife…"

"Yeah, is that an issue?" Ilia flinched, not realizing she had said that out loud. Hunter didn't say anything, as he took another sip from his cup.

"No! It's just…"

"I know what you meant," Hunter said, as he looked into his tea cup, "While Milly get's the occasional weird looks from humans, I get them from other Faunus. Everyone's wondering why I married a human, but it happened, and I had three kids with a human." Ilia looked at the children, playing with their aunts.

"Do your parents…," she began.

"My parents are completely okay with all of this," Hunter explained, setting his tea on the table, "No one can help who they fall in love with. I fell in love with a human, it's just what it is." Ilia's teeth clenched, as she stared into her cup, starting to feel ashamed of herself. He was right, and she knew it, no one could help who they fell in love with; there was definitely nothing wrong with a Faunus marrying a human. Ilia knew that, so why did she feel this way?

"Hey Hunter!" Terra said, as she stepped out, "Have you seen… oh, sorry."

"Oh, it's okay," Ilia said, as she started to stand up, "I was just leaving."

"No, it's fine," Terra said, as she stood on Ilia's side, "What're you talking about?"

"Just about how I met Milly," Hunter answered. That was a lie, and Terra seemed to know that, but didn't press the topic.

"So, Ilia," Terra said, "Have you got a special someone?"

"No," Ilia said, sounding somewhat sadder than she meant.

"You know," Terra said, leaning down, "Violet's actually bi, and I heard she thinks you're cute." Ilia sat up in surprise at that, as she looked at Terra, then at Violet, who glanced over in her direction, and gave Ilia a warm smile.

"How'd you…," Ilia began.

"Sister, you think I can't see how you look at Blake?" Terra asked, arching an eyebrow. Ilia's brow furrowed slightly, apparently still unsure about the prospect of dating a human.

"For what it's worth, and I think Terra will back me up on this, " the octopus said, as he rose to his feet, patting the chameleon's shoulder while he used a tentacle to take his cup, "'You can _never_ go wrong with an Arc." Terra patted Ilia's other shoulder, as the two Arc-in-laws walked back into the house, leaving the girl to consider what she was told.

 **(in downtown Argus)**

With them looking to be stuck in Argus for a while, Saphron had recommended a nice restaurant to Jaune to take the girls to, but it was a rather… pricey. So instead, Terra recommended a hole-in-the-wall cafe. Nothing too fancy, but good for a quite date, which Jaune certainly wanted. So there Jaune was, standing in front of the restaurant, holding a red rose, a white rose, and a small bag in his other hand, as he looked out for his girlfriends.

"There he is!" Jaune glanced over his shoulder, to see Ruby and Weiss approaching together.

"H…. Hey," he said, as he nervously waved, as he offered them their respective roses, "These are for you."

"Thank you," Weiss said, as she took her rose, and kissed him on the cheek. Ruby took her's as well, as she flushed as red as the rose she had.

"What's that?" she then asked, gesturing to the bag Jaune had.

"It's a surprise," Jaune answered, "Let's go in." He then lead them into the cafe, where they found a table.

"This place is nice," Ruby said, looking around. Weiss would've made a "for what it is" comment, but didn't want to ruin the moment, so she just nodded in agreement. An awkward silence then set in over the table, as they tried to figure out what to talk about. Jaune considered talking about dragons, but then remembered it'd be too soon; Ruby wanted to talk about weapons, but figured she'd end up doing most of the talking; Weiss thought about talking about Dust, but thought it would go uncomfortable places. Eventually, Ruby decided to take the plunge.

"So, what's it like growing up with seven sisters?" she asked. Jaune looked to answer, but paused. Just what would the word be?

"Hectic," he finally said.

"No kidding," Ruby said, "Growing up with Yang was crazy enough."

"Certainly leagues different than growing up with Winter I suspect," Weiss commented.

"I heard you also had a brother, right?" Jaune said. He quickly regretted asking that, as Weiss looked away slightly, clearly not comfortable with the subject.

"Sorry," he said, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"It's fine," Weiss answered, "I did, his name's Whitley, but neither Winter nor I were ever close with him. I'm honestly not sure why, it just never happened." Eager to change the subject, Ruby quickly scanned her mind for something else to talk about.

"Speaking of siblings, I heard from Blake that your sister's a writer," she said.

"She is," Jaune said, "Seeing her reading Cyan's novels, it was hard not to tell Blake."

"I just don't understand that appeal of those dirty works," Weiss said, rolling her eyes slightly.

"That's right!" Ruby said, "It's filth! Filth!"

"You sound like my mom now," Jaune said, laughing slightly, "You should've seen her face when Cyan published her first…. adult book."

"Give me a sci-fi or fantasy any day," Ruby said, with a confident nod.

"Finally," Jaune said, spreading his hands," Something else get's it!"

"I can't wait for the next volume of _Starblade_ to come out! I want to see what happens to Eldza!"

"Really?" Jaune said, "I'm more of an Ildza fan."

"Blasphemy!" Ruby accused. Weiss just rolled her eyes as the two geeked out.

"Come on, Weiss," Jaune said with a slight smile, as he noticed the rolling, "I know you're a fan."

"What're you talking about?"

"Nora… may have told me that you have a secret stash of science fiction." Weiss suddenly flushed red, as she looked away.

"Well, anyone can enjoy a well written piece of imagination," she then said.

"I knew you were one of us," Ruby said, poking her friend slightly with a smile.

"It's not like that!" Weiss protested, as the other two laughed. As the group's spirits were lifting, Jaune decided to take the plunge, as he picked the bag up.

"I… got you both some things," he said, as he reached in. That quickly got both girls' attention, as they leaned forward.

"Ruby," Jaune said, "Saphron told me about a really good bakery in town, so…" He then pulled out a small plastic bag filled with cookies. Ruby's eyes lit up, as she saw the cookies, and she snatched them from him.

"You're the best boyfriend ever!" Ruby said, as she leapt over the table, and embraced Jaune, kissing him on the cheek, attracting the attention of a few of the others there. Weiss couldn't help but laugh at that slightly, suspecting that this was going to come up a lot in this relationship. Once Ruby had her time, and was diving into her gift, Jaune turned to Weiss.

"Nora… may have also told me about the stuffed Ursa you had at Beacon," Jaune said, "And how you left it in Atlas when you ran away." Weiss coughed slightly, making a mental note to speak with her partner after this.

"So," Jaune said, as he reached into the other bag, "I got you this." He then held up a little stuffed dragon. It was like the one the girls had seen with in the Arc family photos, only white. Jaune had debated whether or not it'd be in good taste considering all that was happening with them, but thought it was still good. After a moment, Weiss took it, and looked into its blue eyes. Her response was certainly less subdued than Ruby's, but it was no less warm when she bent over, and kissed him gently.

"Thank you," she said, with the warmest smile anyone could give. That gift giving set the tone for the evening, as the three ordered their food, and enjoyed each other's presence, until Weiss had to excuse herself to the bathroom, leaving Jaune with Ruby.

"You know," Ruby said, as she leaned forward, "I'm glad we tried this."

"So am I," Jaune answered, as he put his hand over her's. The two smiled at each other, as Jaune looked into silver's eyes, before he blinked slightly.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"I was just thinking back to the farm," Jaune said, "The way you turned the Wendigo to stone." Though neither teen noticed it, an elderly woman sitting nearby perked up slightly.

"Yeah…. I don't know how I did that," Ruby said, as she frowned, "I mean, the last time I did it, I turned the Wyvern in Beacon to stone."

"Could it have something to do with your eyes?"

"I mean, I guess it could," Ruby said, remembering what Oz and Qrow told her about Silver Eyed People, "But I don't get how it could."

"Pardon me," an elderly voice said, getting her and Jaune's attention. They looked over to see a little old lady with her hair in a braid, with blue clothes and a skull-themed cane. But her most notable trait were her eyes, which were mechanical.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your… date, I assume?" she asked, "My name is Maria, Maria Calavera. I couldn't help but over hear your talk. You said you have silver eyes?"

"Uh… yeah," Ruby answered, nodding. This woman, Maria, frowned, as she looked closely at the girl in red.

"I don't want to ruin your time with your boyfriend," she said, "So I'll just say that if you want to learn a little bit more about your eyes, come to the park tomorrow at noon." Not waiting for an answer, Maria hobbled away, as Ruby watched.

"I'm back," Weiss said, as she came over, "Who was that?"

"I really don't know," Jaune answered. But Ruby remained silent, as she stared after the woman.

 **Note: Another quiet chapter, save for the beginning with Adam of course. It seems there's something off about him.**

 **So Oz get's confronted about his lack of a plan in this chapter, but since the group has had some time to cool off, they don't all lash out of him. So that means he'll be sticking around for the time.**

 **I didn't think in canon Ilia was really confronted with her personal (but I suppose understandable) prejudices against humans, so I thought it would be appropriate if she had a scene dedicated to dealing with it. Beyond that, I wanted Jaune to go out on a real date with the girls; it also offered a chance to finally introduce Maria. I knew she had to be included, she was an important part of the story; Oz wasn't sufficient to teach Ruby about her eyes.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	76. The Grimm Reaper

_**The Grimm Reaper**_

If they were going to be staying for a while in her house, the group decided it'd be good to at least help with Saphron's chores. For their won, Yang and Pyrrha were working in the garden, well more accurately, Pyrrha had volunteered to do it, and Yang had decided to join her. The two were taking a break, but true to form, they decided to spend their break practicing.

Pyrrha ducked under Yang's blow, as she gave her own punch, which the blonde managed to block. She then head butted at Pyrrha, who easily absorbed the blow, and head butted back. That actually knocked Yang back.

"Man," Yang said, rubbing her nose, "Felt that one." Pyrrha just smiled, as she then kicked out with her metal leg, as Yang blocked with her metal arm.

"You aren't getting slow now, are you?" Pyrrha inquired, as she smirked at Yang.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Yang answered, with her own smile. With that, they pushed off each other.

"Can you please not show those off so much? Flynn asked me for a metal arm last night." The girls looked up to see Vermillion and Jade coming out.

"Sorry," Pyrrha said, as she and Yang separated. As they did, Jade eyed them slightly, rubbing her chin.

"Hmm," she said.

"Have you seen Jaune?" Milly asked.

"He went with Ruby and Weiss to the park," Pyrrha answered, "Though he didn't say why." Upon the mention of her sister, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's _other_ girlfriend, Yang frowned slightly.

"So, you two done flirting now, or something?" Jade said, folding her arms.

"WHAT?!" both Yang and Pyrrha squawked. Jade laughed while Milly giggled.

"Relax," the red Arc said, "Jade's just teasing." The partners still exchanged looks with each other, but didn't say anything.

 **(in the park)**

Ruby wasn't sure whether or not to trust this "Maria" woman. On the one hand, this was the first person anyone seemed to have information on Ruby's eyes, and for all Ruby could know, maybe the only one. On the other, she had no idea who this woman was, and in this day and age, it wasn't like trust was something Ruby could afford in bulk. Unfortunately, she needed information, and after all, she was meeting a little old lady in the middle of a park in broad daylight. It wasn't like she was going to a dark alley or anything.

So, she decided to go see Maria, but take proper precautions. Some might say bringing Jaune and Weiss wasn't sufficient, but Ruby decided it was enough. If nothing else, maybe he could call for help if things went South. So with that, she and Jaune were now standing around in the park, waiting for Maria to show up.

"What're you hoping to find out?" Weiss asked.

"Anything, honestly," Ruby answered, "If we can figure out how I can blast monsters with my eyes, maybe we won't need…" She trailed off. She was going to say that they wouldn't need their dragon powers, but that would be a lie. Even now, they still felt like they had a hole inside of them.

"Ah, you decided to come!" The two looked over to see Maria making their way over to them.

"I had my doubts of your coming," she said, as she stopped in front of them, "Not that I would've blamed you, it's not everyday a random old lady in a cafe asks you about your eyes. Now forgive me, but I don't think I ever learned your name."

"Uh… Ruby, Ruby Rose," Ruby answered, before gesturing, "This is my boyfriend, Jaune, and my friend, Weiss."

"I imagined such from yesterday," Maria answered, as she took a seat on the bench in front of them, "Pleasure to actually meet you both. It certainly was a happy accident."

"Yeah," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head, "That sort of stuff seems to happen to us a lot."

"That's certainly a way of putting it," Weiss said, tugging at her collar slightly.

"Well, perhaps the gods favor you." All three people winced slightly at that, but fortunately Maria either didn't notice or didn't care.

"So, I believe we have a certain pair of eyes to talk about," she said, gesturing to her mechanical ones.

"We'll let you go," Jaune said, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "We'll be right over there if you need us." Ruby just squeezed his hand briefly, before the two left.

"He seems like a fine young man," Maria commented as she watched him go.

"Yeah, he is," Ruby said softly as she smiled, before turning and kneeling in front of the bench, "So, you said that you can tell me about the Silver Eyes?"

"Yes, I suppose I did," Maria said, as she looked into the sky, with a rather forlorn expression, "First off, let me apologize for such a random approach like this."

"It's okay, really," Ruby answered.

"It's just there are so few of us left."

"Us?" Ruby asked, cocking her head. Maria seemed to realize what she just said, as she sighed slightly, hanging her head.

"Oh yes," she said with a somewhat sad chuckle, "I guess you wouldn't be able know, but I used to have silver eyes myself." Ruby gasped; this would make Maria only the second person she'd known with same kinds of eyes as her (her mother being the first, of course).

"But…," she said.

"I know, it's a long story," Maria said, "The short version is that I lost them in battle with some hired goons. But in my day, some say I was one of the greatest slayers of Grimm in history. Which, in my modest opinion, I may just have been. I was called the Grimm Reaper back then." Ruby's eyes widened at the mention of that name. She remembered hearing the name from Qrow as his own idol.

"Wow," she muttered.

"Admittedly, I doubt I could ever compete with the actual greatest hunter ever," Maria explained, as she leaned back to look at the sky.

"Who's the greatest?" Ruby asked, cocking her head curiously.

"Tell me, child," Maria said, looking at her, "have you ever heard the name 'Jack Bean'?"

"'Jack Bean'?" Ruby echoed, "I… I think so." It sounded familiar, like a name she may have read in one of her storybooks.

"According to legend, he was the greatest hunter of Grimm ever to have lived," Maria explained, "There wasn't a Grimm across Remnant that he couldn't slay. And I bet you can guess what color his eyes were." Yes, Ruby certainly could.

"So, I can blast monsters with my eyes?" she said, her eyes lighting up in anticipation.

"Not necessarily," Maria said, frowning, "Trust me, if you approach your abilities like that, as something used to defeat your enemies, and something you had an inherent right to, then you'll go nowhere with it." Ruby frowned at that, but not about her eyes. Instead, it was about a certain "reptilian" side of her she didn't have anymore…..

"Let me put it like this: think of it more like using the power to protect those you care about." Ruby thought back to the other times she used the eyes, like at the top of Beacon Tower, or during the fight with the Wendigo. It had been in points when her friends were in great danger, and she just wanted to save them.

"How do I control it?" Ruby asked.

"Well, that's certainly not a loaded question," Maria said, with a slight laugh, "It's hard to explain. For me, it just sort of happened, and I eventually just developed the skill to will it to happen." Well that didn't offer Ruby any more real information, as her brow furrowed further. She thought about how it was to protect those she loved, as she looked towards Jaune, who was holding out an ice cream cone to Weiss, who kissed him on the cheek. Ruby pouted jealously at that.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm growing rather peckish right now," Maria said, "What would you say to some lunch?"

"Uh, sure," Ruby answered, not expecting that sort of offer. As time would have it, Jaune and Weiss were coming back, still with their ice cream.

"Are you guy done?" Weiss asked.

"For the time being," Maria said, as she got off the bench.

"Well, here you go," Jaune said, offering the girl in red another ice cream cone. Ruby smiled, as she took it, before kissing Jaune on the opposite cheek Weiss did.

 **(in the Cotta-Arc household)**

Oz frowned, as he stared at a map of Atlas, trying to think of anyway at all they could get there. Unfortunately, the simple fact of the matter was that without official escort from the Atlesian military, they would not be able to get anywhere near Solitas. To compound the issue, he knew that while James Ironwood was a reasonable man at heart, his subordinates did not all share that reason, such as the woman in command of the garrison here.

" _Maybe we could ask Weiss…,"_ Oscar began.

"I can't ask that of her," Oz answered, "At any rate, I doubt Cordovin would be willing to let anyone other than Weiss herself on any of her ships."

"What if we went back to Mistral," Qrow suggested, "We can get an airship there, and get the Empress' personal seal."

"From what I've been told, the border closure is complete," Oz answered, "Even with the Imperial Seal, we wouldn't make it far into Solitas."

" _So… what do we do?"_ Oscar asked.

"I wish I knew," Oz answered, "We may have to think outside the box on this."

"Well," Qrow said, as he took another swig of his flask,"If there's one thing those kids are good at, it's doing exactly hat." Oz supposed he couldn't argue with that.

 **(on the outskirts of Argus)**

Adam glared down at the city, at a city of _humans_. It made his body tremble in anticipation, and he wanted to do no more than charge down and find Blake, killing everyone in his path.

" _I can only tell you to calm down, so many ways,"_ Mnemosyne commented, as she manifested beside Adam _, "You are not invincible, not yet at least."_ Adam just growled at that, as he continued glaring at the city, but his trembling began to subside.

" _You will have to be strategic about this,"_ Mnemosyne said _, "Let your targets come_ your _way."_ Adam continued to stare down into the city, as he measured his options. Mnemosyne was right, he couldn't go charging down into the city waving his sword around. He'd been an insurgent long enough to realize that the key to succeeding in one's goals was to do things indirectly.

"Soon," he muttered, more to himself than to his creator, "Soon." With hat, he started to walk away.

" _Remember,"_ the Spirit suddenly said _, "You can take all their lives, but you must bring me the lamp."_

"I know," Adam answered. He didn't know or care what was so important about the lamp. All that mattered to him was Blake. As she watched him leave, Mnemosyne looked back to the city. Her sister was down there, she could sense it.

 **Note: This chapter was going to be longer, but I thought it would be more appropriate to divide Maria's talk with Ruby into two chapters. I'm hoping to start to resolve this volume into the next few chapters. I have a clear sequence of events, building up to a satisfying ending.**

 **Beyond that, this chapter was mostly pretty simple. I didn't want the chapter to be too short, so I inserted concepts that would indicate a progression in story or character, but keep the focus on Maria and Ruby's talk. I know this chapter is a lot shorter than some of the previous ones, but there really wasn't much to add here.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	77. The Idea

_**The Idea**_

Shauskha floated across the Northern Ocean, scanning the waters closely, until she caught sight of what she was looking for: a large, but lone rock in the middle of the ocean. Glaring at it, she floated down to it.

" _I know you're here,"_ she called _, "Don't bother with hiding."_ Initially, she received no response, until white mist gathered around, and manifested before her as a white figure like her, only masculine, and his dark hair in a mohawk. He had on golden long pants without a shirt, and was wearing a necklace with a simple golden disc on the end.

" _Long time no see sister,"_ the Spirit said, smiling at her.

" _Dagon,"_ Shauskha greeted, folding her arms.

" _So what brings you to my little rock in the sea?"_ Dagon inquired, as he kickback on his rock.

" _I need Nun,"_ Shauskha said.

" _Do you now?"_ Dagon responded _, "Something happen to Juracan?"_ Shauskha averted her eyes, as she glared at the rocks, to which her brother laughed.

" _Well, that answered that,"_ he said _, "You really let some mortals get the better of you?"_

" _They have a Silver Eyes in their ranks,"_ Shauskha said _, "If not for her…"_ She growled, before shaking her head slightly.

" _A Silver Eyes is with them?"_ Dagon said, arching an eyebrow _, "Hmm, not many of them left."_

" _Well, there's one with them,"_ Shauskha answered.

" _Not sure why that makes you at all interested in Nun,"_ Dagon said.

" _Nun is a mighty creature,"_ Shauskha explained _, "Not even a Silver Eyes would be able to defeat it."_

" _Mhmm,"_ Dagon answered, rolling his eyes slightly _, "Not really sure what any of this matters to me, though. Why should I send Nun to hunt down some mortals I don't even know?"_ Shauskha looked towards the water, noticing a large, dark shape moving through the water around the rock.

" _These mortals might yet prove an issue,"_ Shauskha said _, "Have you heard of what happened to Viridios and Vritra in the South?"_

" _I have,"_ Dagon answered, as he leaned up, and folded his arms _, "That doesn't answer my question, though."_

" _If these are the same mortals who defeated him…"_

" _Defeating you and him is not a good gauge of the power of mortals."_

" _Brother…"_

" _The fact that you were beaten by mortals says more about you than me,"_ he continued _, "Now how about you…"_

" _They have the Lamp of Knowledge."_ That quickly silenced Dagon's taunts, as he narrowed his eyes. There was a period of silence, before the male floated up to face his sister.

" _Are you certain?"_ he asked, narrowing his eyes.

" _Completely."_

" _Well then,"_ Dagon said, after a moment, as he glanced at the water _, "Just where are these mortals?"_ A massive red fin briefly peaked atop the surface.

 **(in downtown Argus)**

"You sure, you want us here?" Jaune asked.

"Well, yeah," Ruby said.

"It's just I thought you'd rather have this conversation one on one," Jaune answered. He and his girlfriends were gathered in a small cafe near the park, while waiting for Maria to order their food, which she was doing on her own insistence. "You think I'm some feeble old woman?" had been her words, and seeing as neither Jaune nor Ruby had the hear to say otherwise, and Ruby silenced Weiss when she tried to say so, they didn't protest.

"Yes," Weiss agreed, "I don't know if this is something that we can take much from."

"Well…," Ruby said, trying to think of a reason, "I guess I just wanted you here." Not much of a reason, true, but the only one she could think of.

"Well, I guess, it would be good to learn about a new power, after…" Jaune trailed off, as his mind went to the power they had all lost. The girls also were drawn to the thoughts.

"Do you two also have this… emptiness inside you?" he asked. Both just nodded. Ruby rubbed her stomach.

"I don't know if it'll every go away," she said softly. Weiss just stared at the table, as if her dragon powers were hiding somewhere in the boards.

"Sorry it took so long," Maria said, breaking them out of their thoughts, "These gods damned lines…"

"It's okay," Ruby said, trying not to pay attention about the mention of the gods,"So, where do you think the Silver Eyes came from?"

"That's a question I don't think anyone can answer," Maria answered with a slight smile, "According to the legends, they just sort of appeared. But I have my own idea that my father passed onto me."

"You do?" Ruby asked.

"Well, they have the powers to destroy the Creatures of Grimm," Maria explained, "They were created by the God of Darkness so long ago. Perhaps the light within your eyes came from the God of Light." A shiver went up and down the spines of all three teens at the mention of the gods. Was that really what the Silver Eyes were? They were the creations of the God of Light? It would certainly be quite ironic.

"The best advice I suppose I can offer you right now is to think of your light as something to protect, or maybe preserve, but not to destroy," Maria explained, "Look at the people around you, and think about how you want to protect them, and I don't doubt you'll be able to eventually use them." Ruby looked down at the table, trying to think, before Jaune put a hand over her, squeezing it slightly. That made Ruby smile.

"Well, if there's some magic power that can help us get to Atlas, I'll be a bit more excited," Weiss mused.

"You said you're trying to get into Atlas?" Maria said, as she suddenly looked at her.

"Yeah," Jaune said, "It's… kind of a long story."

"It seems all stories are long ones these days," the elderly woman said, as she smiled, "I wish you'd told me that earlier."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"You're not the only one who needs to get to Atlas," Maria said, before she tapped her artificial eyes, "These eyes need the occasional tune up, and unfortunately the one guy who can do it right is in Mantle."

"Geez, what're we supposed to do?" Jaune grumbled.

"Well, I wish I could help," Maria said, "Nothing short of stealing an Atlesian airship would get the job done." Suddenly, Jaune perked up, which was not unnoticed by his girlfriends.

"Jaune…," Weiss said slowly, "Please don't…"

 **(in the Cotta-Arc household)**

"You want to steal an airship from the base?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Jaune answered. RYPJ and BRWN were assembled in the guest room of the house, while the family was out seeing a movie. Jaune really hated hiding this sort of stuff from his family, but it was only necessary at this point. Though considering how their plan would need some outside help… Well, he couldn't think about that now.

"And you want us to just trust this random lady Ruby met at a coffee shop who says she can fly a ship?" Yang asked.

'Well, it's the only idea we got at this point," Jaune said.

"That doesn't make it any less of a bad idea," Weiss said, and when she saw Ruby looking at her in surprise, continued, "Don't look at me like that Ruby, it's our job as his girlfriends to keep his feet on the ground."

"We do need some way to Atlas," Pyrrha said, "Does anyone have any other idea?"

"That doesn't mean we should try raiding an Atlesian military base," Blake said.

"Haven't you and Ily already done stuff like that a few times already?" Nora asked. Both Faunus exchanged looks, as Ilia turned magenta briefly.

"If we were dragons we could just fly there," Ruby grumbled. She then realized what she just said, as everyone's hearts sank at the mention of that.

"Well we can't become dragons anymore," Yang said bitterly, "Because _he_ took that power from us."

"Well, to be fair, those were gifts," Ruby said, "And we did tell him to go away."

"Yeah, but how can anyone blame us?" Nora said, "He destroyed the world, and then hid it from us."

"Well, to be fair," Pyrrha said, "Would any of us really volunteer that kind of information?"

"I guess that's true," Ren said.

"But even then, what we said to him was wrong," Jaune said, "After all that he did for us, we shouldn't have sent him away the way we did."

"Are you trying to say what he did was right?" Blake asked.

"I'm not trying to justify what he did," Jaune said, as he briefly held up his hands, "But it was so long ago, and he's done so much for us since then. He taught me so much about fighting, he saved Ruby's life at one point, he saved the life of Blake's dad, and on top of all that, he gave us magic for our own use. But even after all that, we sent him away out of something that happened so long ago. I'm not saying what he did was right, but after all he's done of us, maybe it was wrong for us to banish him the way we did." The group listened to Jaune's speech about that, as they all stared silently.

"Well, it really doesn't matter at this point," Weiss said softly, "He's gone now, and if he's coming back, he hasn't done so yet. We can't count on powers we don't have."

"Exactly," Jaune said, "So unless anyone can think of any other ideas…" No one said anything at that, as the necessity began to sink in.

"So, what's the plan?" Ruby finally asked.

 _The Old Ones: The Guardian_

 _Despite what some might assume, Hong Zanshi never cared about power. He put no stock in power, rather in people. Power was fickle, and could never be counted on; people, if you played your cards right, could be trusted, and you could count on. But in order for people to be at their best, there had to peace, there had to be unity, and that was why he sought to unite Anima, that was why he was at war._

 _The young Emperor was currently in his war room, leaning on his map table, surrounded by his generals, as he tried to figure out his next move. He had dark red hair, and was wearing bright red robes with a sword on his hip. Ringing the room were the imperial guards dressed in black.._

" _Our forces need to keep advancing North," Hong said, as he moved a piece across the map, "We have to keep up the pressure against the enemies."_

" _Your Majesty, if we overextend our lines…," one of the generals began._

" _If we don't take the initiative, we'll lose it quickly," Hong interrupted, before shaking his head, "We have to move now."_

" _Yes, Your Majesty."_

" _And remember," Hong said, holding up his hand, "If they surrender…" Everyone nodded in understanding; if the leader surrendered, he was to be spared, and become governor of the new province._

" _Now, if there are no other matters," Hong said, as he waved over a couple of servants over, each of them with some drinks, "I'd say we deserve a break for the night." No one could protest that, as they all started taking drinks. While each staff member took their drinks from the tray, the Emperor's personal servant was slow to arrive._

" _Hurry!" one of the ministers shouted, "Bring the Emperor his drink!" The servant then hurried over, bowing his head as he held up the tray._

" _Thank you," the Emperor said, "Now…." He couldn't finish, as the servant suddenly grabbed a knife from under the tray, and thrust it forward. Hong just managed to avoid the knife, as the tip of it grazed his cheek, and he was sent stumbling away._

" _Assassin!" another minister cried, "Assassin!" Immediately the guards leapt into action, but another one of the servants suddenly drew her own knife, and cut down another guard, and charged at Hong, who drew his sword. However, as the assassin came upon him, a sai whistled through the air, and got stuck in the thug's throat. Hong could only look up one of the guards leapt onto him, and ripped their sai out of their throat. One of the other assassins turned his attention to the guard, only for the guard to quickly be upon him, and with a single slash, cut his throat. And just like that, it was over, as quick as it had begun. Everyone stared at the bodies of the assassins, and the guard who slew them all so easily._

" _Are you well, Your Majesty?" the guard asked, in a feminine voice, as she fell to one knee._

" _I am, thanks to you," Hong said, as he came up to her. The Emperor gestured for her to rise, which she did._

" _Please, remove your mask." The guard did as she was told, revealing a bob of black hair with green eyes. Hong's eyes widened at the sight of how beautiful she was._

" _I owe you my life, Ma'am," Hong said, "What is your name?"_

" _My name's Ama Terasu," the woman answered, keeping her face on the ground._

" _Well, Ms. Terasu," Hong said, "Perhaps you're deserving of a promotion."_

 **Note: We've got another Spirit in Dagon, and apparent Grimm partner named Nun. Dagon was the name of a Canaanite fertility deity, and Nun was a name for the primordial waters that creation sprung from in Egyptian mythology.**

 **Some I bet are thinking why Jaune seems to be forgiving Darkness. Well, bare with me on this, and if you can't, repeat the MST3K Mantra: "It's just a show, I should really just relax". So they're going to be moving to steal an airship, so I imagine there's going to be trouble. I don't think there are going to be many more chapters in Vol. 6, since the only thing left really is the climax.**

 **We got a new segment for the Old Ones, and probably the longest one yet. We'll have two more after this.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	78. The Plan

_**The Plan**_

Darkness and Light walked down the streets of Mistral, in their divine forms, hidden from the views of all those present. As they were doing so, Light looked around.

" **You know what this reminds me of?"** he asked.

" **I assume you will be telling me,"** Darkness answered, not looking at him.

" **A mortal once came to me asking for a magical set of tools, that would always remain in pristine condition, and could build anything,"** Light explained **, "I gave him those tools, and at first, he just used them to build structures and monuments. But, inevitably, he passed on, and the tools fell to others; and the one who inherited them used them to build weapons. They turned a tool of creation to destructive means."**

" **It is in their nature,"** Darkness said **, "They find destruction easier than creation."**

" **Perhaps that is true,"** Light answered, as he looked towards one of the mountains over the city **, "Perhaps that is why your creations are drawn to him. I suspect…."** He then came to a halt, still staring at the mountain.

" **What is it?"** Darkness asked, coming up beside his brother. Light said nothing, but continued to stare at the mountain. The younger looked at his brother, before following his gaze. He looked through the mountain, through the earth, and through the rock. It was then that he saw what Light said.

" **It cannot be,"** Darkness said **, "I did not think to look the last time I was here…"**

" **Why are you surprised?"** Light said **, "You and I both saw one of them at the Academy."**

" **I thought that to be an anomaly, that the force of time eventually claimed them,"** Darkness muttered **, "But there is no doubting it now, if two remain, then they all most remain."**

" **So, what will you be doing now?"** Light inquired **, "They are your creations, after all."** Initially, Darkness said nothing, as he looked his hand, which curled into fist, and he looked up.

" **I am going back to the mortals,"** he declared, as he turned on his heels, and started walking.

" **Are you now?"** Light answered, looking after his brother **, "Why may I ask?"**

" **I hereby damn their choices,"** Darkness answered, looking towards Light **, "I will not allow them to face this alone."** With that, he kept walking.

" **Why?"** Light repeated, as he turned towards his brother **, "You owe these mortals nothing. They sent you away, even after you had done for them, and yet you want to return to their side? How can you?"** Darkness then stopped, and was silent for a moment, before he assumed his true from.

" **BECAUSE THEY NEED ME,"** he answered, and with that, he beat his wings, turning into a stream of dark energy that streaked across the sky. That left the God of Light, and if he had a mouth, he would be smiling. However, he looked towards the mountain one last time, before he also disappeared.

 **(in Argus)**

It hadn't been easy explaining what was going on to his family, but Jaune had to. He needed his family's help if they were going to pull this up, especially Terra's; she knew the comm tower better than just about everyone in the city. And if he was going to tell his sister-in-law, he would have to tell Saphron, and if he was going to tell Saphron…

Rain and Alistair were predictably opposed to the prospect of their youngest son trying to rob an Atlesian military base, as were their daughters. It took over an hour worth of explaining, and promises from Qrow that they would all be fine, and even then, they initially wouldn't approve it. Until finally, Jaune gave another one of his in depth speeches about how important their job was, and who his family could trust him (Ruby may have pitched in a few words of her own a couple times). That didn't convince them entirely, but it finally got the family to agree to help him.

Weiss was now nervously making her way through the base to one of the nearby Bullheads, dragging her suitcase behind her. Leading her was a short, elderly woman in a uniform, and they were being followed by some goose-stepping twins with tall hats. Trailing behind them were Saphron with Adrian in her arms, along with Milly and Hunter, with Lazuli being in her mother's own arms, Lapis on her father's shoulders, and Flynn being lead by his mother's hand. The kids were looking around excitedly at the sight of the big stuff going on around them.

"I cannot understate the excitement I felt when you decided to go home," Colonel Caroline Cordovin as she looked back at Weiss, "Going to Beacon was a such a waste."

"Yes," Weiss said after a moment, "It's time to get back to my roots."

"You know, I can see it now," Cordovin said, "You and your sister fighting side by side, hand in hand, in service of the State of Atlas."

"Absolutely," Weiss said with gritted teeth, which Cordovin apparently didn't hear or wasn't listening to.

"I will be sending my two top lieutenants to personally escort you to Atlas," the commander continued, "You'll be sure to make that clear to General Ironwood, right?"

"Um, of course," Weiss said, and with that, she started to embark onto the ship, while Cordovin took her leave, as she heaved up her (slightly heavier than normal) suitcase.

"Please!" one of the tall twin guards said, holding up a finger, "Allow me to carry your bag!"

"No! Allow me!" the other said, as both started trying to all but tear Weiss' case from her arms.

"No, please!" Weiss said, as she tried to hold onto her bag "I'm fine!" Unfortunately, the guards either didn't hear her, or weren't listening. This didn't go unnoticed by the Arc girls, who were standing further back.

"You ready?" Milly whispered to her younger sister.

"You know it," Saphron answered, before looking to her son, "You know what do do, sweetie." Adrian nodded in understanding, before he burst into a (fake) tantrum, screaming, bawling, and flailing in his mother's arms.

"Look, brother!" one of the guards said, "There is a child crying!"

"Go, you must console it!" the other said, as his brother marched over to Adrian, but that still left one with Weiss.

"Now kids!" Hunter said. The three octopuses all nodded in understanding as well.

"Hey mister!" Flynn said, as he ran up to the other guard, as he leapt up this arm, holding on by his tentacle, "How many guys are here?"

"Hey mister!" Lapis said, as she jumped onto his other arm, "How big is this base?"

"Now, now children!" the guard said, as he finally let go of Weiss' bag, "I will answer all your questions in short order." That gave Weiss the chance she needed, as she leapt onto the airship.

"Bye Aunt Weiss!" Lazuli said, waving, which fortunately, the twins didn't hear. Weiss just waved slightly with a smile to her potential future niece, before she pulled out her Scroll.

"Those stubborn idiots," Maria's voice grumbled from inside Weiss' bag.

 **(on the cliffs)**

" _On the ship."_ After reading the text, Nora looked up from her Scroll.

"Weiss is ready," she said, looking up. The rest of the group, bar Blake, Ilia, Yang, and Pyrrha were on the cliffs outside the city.

"Alright," Jaune said, "Now everyone keep an eye on the Scroll, the moment the signal goes down, it'll only be down for a short time."

" _We're almost at the Tower,"_ Ilia said through Jaune's own Scroll.

" _No signs of trouble, yet,"_ Pyrrha said through Ruby's Scroll

 **(in the woods)**

Blake and Ilia were making their way towards the city comm tower, as Yang and Pyrrha scouted out the surrounding area with Bumblebee. Blake had Terra on the Scroll, who was giving her instructions on the tower.

" _Now remember, you'll only have a small window to do whatever it is you're going to do,"_ __the dark haired woman explained _, "Whatever it is, do it quickly."_

"We got it," Blake answered with a nod.

" _Oh, and one last thing, this conversation never happened,"_ Terra said _, "If word get's out that we helped you guys sabotage the tower…."_

"Don't worry," Blake said, "This isn't the first time we hacked into Atlesian hardware." Not amused, Terra glared at her.

" _Never. Happened,"_ she said as bluntly as her voice could muster. Her point made, Blake just nodded before the Arc-in-law hung up.

"I like her," Ilia said, with a smile, as Blake looked up to see the tower not far from them.

"Alright," she said, "This shouldn't be any different from the other one's."

 **(in other part the woods)**

Yang was sitting on her motorcycle a couple miles from the tower, looking at her scroll. She and Pyrrha were keeping an eye on the permitter, making sure that no "unwanted" individuals came too close.

" _Okay,"_ Blake said _, "We're at the tower."_

" _Alright,"_ Jaune said _, "Keep communications open for as long as you can. Once you've done your stuff, we won't be able to maintain contact."_

"We'll keep watch here," Yang said, "Pyrrha's scouting the other side of the woods, she says there's nothing to report."

" _That's… that's good,"_ Jaune said, as he frowned through his scroll.

 **(on the cliffs)**

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, noticing her boyfriend's frown.

"This is going too well," Jaune said with a frown.

"That's pretty pessimistic," Oscar said.

"He does have a bit of a point," Ren said, "Things generally don't this well for us, especially recently."

"I don't like this either," Qrow said, swirling his flask, "It's too quiet, like something is going to very wrong all of a sudden." Oscar's eyes flashed as Oz took back over.

"Maybe things are going better for us than they normally have been," he said, "But that doesn't change what we need to do. We keep going as planned until something does go 'very wrong all of a sudden'."

"Weiss and Maria have control of the ship," Nora suddenly said as she glanced at her Scroll.

"Okay," Jaune said, as he spoke back into his Scroll again, "You guys ready?"

" _Ready!"_ Blake said _, "Yang?"_

 **(in the woods)**

"Ready!" Yang answered _,_ "Pyrrha?" There was no answer initially, which asked Yang's brow to furrow.

"Pyrrha?" she asked, "Come on, talk to me bronzie." Starting to get a little nervous now, Yang clenched her teeth.

"Guys, I can't raise Pyrrha!" she said.

" _Here it comes,"_ she could hear her uncle comment rather bitterly.

 **(with Pyrrha)**

Pyrrha was sent sprawling to the ground with a cry, before a metal foot came up which she had to roll to avoid. As she was rolling she leapt back to her feet and held her weapons at the ready.

"I've been waiting for this," Talos said, as he advanced on her, opening his second pair of arms, and unsheathing his blades.

 _The Old Ones: The Miner_

 _Janus hiked up the collar of his coat, shivering at the cold, as he wrapped his tail around his torso in an attempt to salvage some heat._

" _Come on, we're almost there," his friend called out from ahead him. The snow leopard Faunus glared at him._

" _You said that four times now," he said._

" _Because we are," Nicholas Schnee answered, with a grin, as he kept not judging forward. Janus Ounce just rolled his eyes, and kept going after him. The two were currently hiking their way through the Atlesian tundra the stinging wind, based on Nicholas' hunch._

" _Stop!" Nicholas suddenly said, holding up his hand._

" _What?" Janus said, looking around as his friend suddenly pulled out a shovel.. They were near some cliffs._

" _Seriously, here?" the leopard asked, spreading his hands, "I mean, I know Dust is underground, but…"_

" _Just bear with me," Nicholas said, not even looking behind him, save to toss Janus a shovel, "Now dig!" Groaning, the Faunus started to do just that. They dug for what felt like a couple hours, with nothing to show of rather efforts. Janus gave another groan, as he leaned on the shovel, looking over the fruits of their labors._

" _Great," Janus said, spreading his hands, "So much for your hunch."_

" _Keep digging!" Nicholas said, not looking up._

" _Nick! This is madness!"_

" _I'm not going to let Mantle choke on it's own poverty!" Nicholas said, "I will dig until my arms fall off!" Janus stared at his friend, as he dragged his hand over his face._

" _Nick….," he began._

" _Praise the Brothers!" Nicholas suddenly declared._

" _What is it?" Janus asked. Nicholas then suddenly held up a green Dust crystal. Janus' eyes widened in shock at that._

" _That's…."_

" _This is it!" Nicholas said, as he continued digging after pocketing the crystal, "It's here!" Janus stared at his friend for a time, before smiling._

" _Careful," he said, as he started digging himself, "If there's more in here, we don't want to set off any of it."_

 **Note: If it wasn't already clear, it should be now; the Old Ones are the ancestors of the various protagonists. The order of whose ancestors are whose should be pretty apparent as well.**

 **Most of this chapter was dedicated to setting up the finale. I wasn't sure how Jaune explained what they were going to do to his sister and in-law, and how they got them to support them. I tried including an actual scene of him pitching it to his family, but I couldn't fit in a sufficient set of scenes. So I decided to omit the scene, and file it under "suspension of disbelief".**

 **Something that got me thinking writing this chapter was what Cordovin, and by extension Winter's, actual rank in the military is, if "Specialist" is a position. The US Army has Specialists, but they're fairly low ranked (their pay-grade is the equivalent of a corporal), and Winter doesn't (at least by all appearances) seem to be low ranked. She works closely with the Atlesian military general commander, and seems to have authority over a number of other Atlesian soldiers. This is just a complete shot in the dark, but I'd have to guess she'd be an officer herself, perhaps a Captain or a Major. Cordovin is the commander of a garrison in an Atlesian base, and normally that position is held by Colonels. Of course, maybe Specialists are completely separate from the Atlesian rank structure, and don't have any official "rank" in the meaning of the word.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	79. Android vs Cyborg

_**Android vs Cyborg**_

Pyrrha blocked a strike from Talos, but the force still pushed her away. She switched Milo to gun mode and fired, only for the bullet to harmlessly against Talos' armor, before switching it back to sword mode. She slashed at Talos, who easily evaded the attack, and brought up one of his blades, which Pyrrha managed to block. He then held up his hand, his fingers opening. Having a good feeling that that meant, Pyrrha quickly fell back as Talos started firing.

The red head took shelter behind one of the trees, cringing as she hoped the trees could withstand the bullets. It proved to be a non-issue, though as Talos was suddenly on top of her, swinging his blades, and though he missed the teen, he still brought down the tree. Pyrrha then unleashed her Semblance, sending the metal man tumbling away. He managed to catch himself, driving his blades into the ground as he ground to a halt, and looked up, his faceplate glowing menacingly. He then held up all four of his hands, as all four of his palms opened up, releasing a massive burst of energy that careened through the air, bringing down several of the trees.

"Why are you still doing this?" Pyrrha demanded, once the attack had ceased, "I told you what happened!"

"I know the truth," the android answered, as he advanced on Pyrrha, "Emerald told me what happened."

"So why are you going for me?" Pyrrha demanded. Talos fists clenched and unclenched briefly.

"She may have set my sister up for execution," he said, "But _you_ were the one who pulled the trigger, and as long as you still draw breath, my vengeance is incomplete!" His Dust apparatus activated, as his blades lit up with Dust enhanced power, and with that, he lunged at Pyrrha again.

 **(in the air)**

Weiss looked over the ocean, as Maria swung the Bullhead back in the direction of the cliffs. She then checked her Scroll, noticing that there was still a signal, meaning Blake and Ilia hadn't gotten the job down then.

"Come on! Come on!" she muttered to herself nervously.

"Calm down, child," Maria said, glancing at the girl beside her, "I can hear your heartbeat from here, and my hearing ain't what it was." Weiss would've chuckled at that, but was too nervous.

"It's not that I don't have faith in Blake," she explained, "But…"

" _Manta 5-1, this is Argus Base,"_ a voice from the radio said, catching both women's attention _, "We see you circled back. What's your status? Over."_ An unspoken "oh crap" was exchanged between the them.

"Why can they see us?" Weiss asked.

"Something tells me, someone couldn't get their job done," Maria answered, "Don't worry, I've had my run-ins with Atlas before, just leave it to me." She then took the radio.

"Argus Base, this is Manta 5-1," she said, "We were up here to inspect the outflow of the vehicle, but everything has demonstrated to be optimal. We are going to go a little further before we head back, just to make sure." There was a five second pause.

" _Unidentified pilot, please surrender to Atlesian authority, or you will be treated as hostile, and respond accordingly."_

"What?!" Weiss squawked, "You said…"

" _Miss, none of our pilots are elderly women,"_ the voice interrupted. Weiss opened then closed her mouth, before she face palmed.

"Okay," Maria said, "Maybe I should've seen that coming."

" _Calavera!"_ a familiar, and very annoying voice shrieked onto the radio, making Weiss wince at the noise.

"Good day Cordovin!" Maria said, with a smirk, "I hope you're doing well."

" _You insipid old shrew!"_ Cordovin said _, "I don't know how you corrupted Ms. Schnee, but I'm not going to let you get away with this!"_ Weiss was about to say something, only for Maria to pull a thing of nuts out of nowhere.

"I'm doing this, Cordovin!" she declared, "I will be eating nuts while I'm doing it!" Weiss decided that she would wonder about that later, as she rolled her eyes, and took her Scroll again.

"We've got a problem here," she said into it, "And our brave pilot isn't helping the situation."

 **(on the cliffs)**

"What's going on?" Ruby asked, after Nora relayed the information to the group, "Why isn't the signal down?"

"Something must've happened with Blake and Ilia," Ren said.

"Shouldn't we go and help them, then?" Jaune asked.

"Something tells me we may not be able to," Oz said, as he looked into the distance, seeing the airship coming up, "I suspect that Cordovin is going to be scrambling her fighters."

" _Uh…,"_ Weiss's voice suddenly said _, "Guys…"_

"Weiss?" Jaune asked.

" _I don't think she's sending any fighters."_ As if on cue, the ground began to rumble slightly. All eye were drawn to the base in the distance, as the side of the cliff actually opened up.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"Trouble, that's what," Qrow said as he put his hand on Harbinger, for what little it would be worth, as a colossal mech emerged from the cliff. They couldn't tell how big it was from there, but it was absolutely enormous, as it started lumbering in their direction.

" _Now!"_ Cordovin said over an intercom on the mech _, "You will taste the true might of the Atlesian war machine!"_

"Well, so much for the plan," Ren commented.

 **(at the tower)**

Blake was slammed into the railing of the tower, as she quickly avoided a piece of rebar thrown at her. Taking shelter around the corner, she took a moment to catch her breath. It never failed, just when things were starting to look up, _he_ had to show up and ruin it all.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find some way to find you?" Adam growled, as he spun Wilt through his hands, "You could go from one end of Remnant to the other, and I'd still find you!" Blake clenched her teeth as she switched Gambol Shroud to gun form. She then rounded the corner, and fired a Dust bullet, which Adam easily deflected. While it didn't do enough, it did distract him, as Ilia came down on top of him, swinging Lightning Lash. Again, Adam easily blocked it, before having to dodge a kick from Ilia, which he quickly countered with his own kick, knocking her away.

"I guess I should've expected you turning," Adam said to her, "You always did seem completely obsessed with Blake."

"You're one to talk!" Ilia countered as she got to her feet, and swung Lighting Lash again, which Adam managed to avoid. He then, however had to duck from a strike from Blake. He swung Wilt up, which the cat easily managed to avoid.

"I've been waiting for you two to get away fro the other's for a while now," Adam said, as the red eyes on his mask narrowed.

"Why!" Blake snapped, "Why do you still stalk me like this?! Can't you just get on with your life?"

"My life ended the moment you ran away," Adam answered, "You can run away again, but there's nowhere you can go where I won't chase you!" He then sprung at Blake again, as the two traded strikes with each other for a while, before Ilia moved, and struck with her weapon. While it missed the Faunus, it wrapped around his sword, and before Adam could react, Blake wrapped her ribbon around his otherwise, causing him to be pulled in two different directions.

"You're insane!" Ilia said.

"He's always been insane," Blake said, "It just took us a while to admit it."

"Maybe I am insane," Adam said, his mask glaring with him, "But I don't care at this point, and if losing my sanity means killing you, then I don't care _what_ have to give up!" It was then that Blake something noticed in addition to his mask: an iron crown, a very familiar iron crown.

"It can't be," she murmured in shock; it was the crown of the Wild Empire, thrown into the darkness by her ancestor so long ago. Adam seemed to notice what she was looking at, as his eyes narrowed cruelly.

"There was a time when the Faunus ruled all of Remnant!" the bull said, "I hoped that you and I could share a return of those days together, but now..." Suddenly, his Aura glowed bright than normal, and his eyes glowed behind his mask, as he clenched his fists, and yanked hard. The force sent both women tumbling towards him, and he held up one first which caught Blake in the face. This in turn, sent Ilia slamming into Blake. When the two got their senses back, they saw Adam retrieving his sword (which he dropped when he pulled the two together).

"I thought I understood what it meant to be powerful," he said, as he spun his sword through his hands, "But now… now I have real power. Power that can rival every human and Faunus in the world." He then looked straight at Blake.

"I know what you are," Adam suddenly said, pointing his weapon at her, "You aren't even a Faunus anymore, you're just a monster." Blake's eyes widened upon hearing that; she knew what he was talking about.

"How…," she began, as she rose to her feet.

"You're not the only one who's scene the face of a creator," Adam answered coldly, before he sprung at her again.

 **(in the woods)**

Pyrrha and Talos continued to exchange blows, as the android brought down his lightning enhanced sword. Pyrrha blocked that, but the bronze conducted electricity, sending a shock through her body. While her Aura deflected the damage, it stunned her, allowing Talos to kick her away. As she was knocked to the ground, Talos was quickly on top of her, stabbing down with his gravity enhanced blade. Fortunately, Pyrrha managed to roll out of the way, but the shockwave generated sent her careening away.

The android was quick to follow up on his attack, as he held up his hand, and his palm opened, sending a blast of green energy at Pyrrha. She dodged the attack, but it hit some nearby rocks, blasting it apart. Noticing a rock landing by her, Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, before she picked it up, threw it in the air, and kicked it at Talos. As she expected, it harmlessly bounced off Talos' armor, but it did get his attention, allowing the champion to press her own attack. The two exchanged another several strikes, before they locked weapons.

"You can't beat me!" Talos said, "I was designed specifically to be the greatest fighter in Remnant. The best fighting styles, battle strategies, and reflexes were directly programmed into my brain. I'll never tire, I'll never slow, and I'll never stop, not until you, and everyone else who murdered Penny, are dead!"

"Great," Pyrrha said, "That all just makes it another chance to test myself." She then activated her Semblance, repelling the metal man again. With a growl, he leapt to his feet, as he he suddenly grabbed one of the nearby trees, and literally pushed it down, sending it Pyrrha's way. Fortunately it was easy to avoid, as she switched Milo to rifle mode again, and fired, aiming for his faceplate. It was deflected off his forehead, but distracted him, as Pyrrha used her Semblance to bring _him_ to _her_ , as she thrust forward with Milo in spear form. Talos leaned out of the way, but the head of the spear grazed his cheek, leaving a gash across his face. Talos tumbled away, but was quick to recover.

"Hmm," he mused, as he touched the gash that was under one of his eyes, "It's been a while since someone was able to actually damage me." Pyrrha didn't say anything at that, as she held a battle stance. The android was quick to act, as he swung his fire enhanced sword, sending an arc of fire her way, which while it missed her, made an entire tree go up in flames. Pyrrha looked to throw Aukuo, but the android moved faster, stabbing down with all four of his swords. Talos then quickly swung up his Ice-enhanced blade, creating an arc of ice that trapped Pyrrha's leg in it. She quickly tried to activate her Semblance, only for Talos to knock her upside the head, stunning her.

"Now," Talos said, as he held up blade to finish the job, "I'm going to enjoy this." The dazed Pyrrha tried to force her leg out, as Talos brought it down. Only of him to stop, and whirl around, just as Bumblebee suddenly came down at him. Talos programmed reflexes quickly responded, as he caught the motorcycle in mid air. Yang rolled to the ground, her own weapons at the ready, as Talos ripped Bumblebee in half with his bare hands, holding them like blunt weapons.

"Yang!" Pyrrha cried, "What're you doing here?"

"What'd you think?" Yang answered, as she punched at the ice, freeing Pyrrha's leg. Pyrrha couldn't ask any more questions, as all of a sudden the two pieces of Bumblebee were thrown at the two, which the two managed to avoid.

"Who are you?" Talos then demanded, as he stared the new girl down.

"This girl's partner," Yang said, as she stood beside Pyrrha.

"I've no quarrel with you, organic," Talos said, pointing one of his blades at her, "Why don't you scram here and now."

"Yang, don't get yourself involved," Pyrrha said, "He's…" She stopped, as Yang look her straight in the eyes.

"I ain't leaving you this time," the blonde answered, "Got it?" Pyrrha would've been surprised, but found herself unable to feel like that, as she smiled at her partner.

"We got this?" Yang asked with her own smile.

"Yeah, we got this," Pyrrha answered, and with that, they turned to face their android opponent. Talos just growled, as he then held up his arms, only for each one to split in two. For a moment, Pyrrha and Yang thought he was going to attack them with _eight_ arms, but instead, the arms seemed to rotate on his shoulders, with one of the upper ones going down to a lower socket, and a lower one going to an upper socket. The hands then came back together, each blade now enhanced with _two_ different forms of Dust.

"It doesn't matter," he said, "I'll just kill you both."

 _The Old Ones: The Warrior_

" _I don't get it," Callum Duun said, as he prodded the fire slightly, "Why are we still here?"_

" _Because Lord Asgard has ordered it," his sister, Kara Duun answered._

" _Oh well, that makes it all fine," Callum grumbled. They were in a fortress that sat in Southern Solitas, and they both suspected that if not for their Auras, and the fires, they'd probably be frozen._

" _The people need us up there," Kara said, "If we don't stop him, he'll continue enslaving the people." Callum just grunted at that. Both siblings were soldiers in the army of Lord Ragnar Asgard, who had just landed an army. They were now marching North to face the forces of the Wolf King, Fenris. Fenris was a warlord who was remnant of the Wild Empire, who built his own little fiefdom in a city not far from there._

" _Damn Faunus," Callum grumbled, "They need a taste of our pain."_

" _We'll figure that out another day," Kara said._

" _Actually, I don't think those thoughts are worth it." The soldiers looked up to see a tall, muscular man with a short orange beard and mustache with short orange hair. On each hip was a sizable battle-ax._

" _Sire!" both said as they rose to their feet, only for Ragnar to gesture for them to sit back down._

" _May I join you?" he then asked, and after getting approval, he sat by the fire with them, blowing into his hands slightly, "You know, I almost hope my descendants decide to go back to Anima." He then looked towards Callum._

" _So, what's on your mind?"_

" _Nothing worth your time, my Lord."_

" _Try me." Callum and his sister exchanged glances, before taking a breath._

" _Our grandfather was born during the days of the Empire," he said, "The Faunus killed his whole family, and would've killed him he hadn't escaped to Anima. And while the Empire may be gone, there's still so many Faunus who think of us as just…. things." To his surprise, his lord put a hand on his shoulder._

" _Let's clarify something right now, the goal isn't to defeat the Faunus," Ragnar corrected, "It's to defeat Fenris, and save the people in the city. The fact that they are Faunus doesn't matter."_

" _But if we don't take action now, the Faunus will just do it all again!" Kara said._

" _We can't be sure of that," Ragnar answered, "And it's our job to be better than that. Freedom is a right to all living things." The siblings exchanged looks with each other, not sure what to make of their lord's words._

" _My lord!" They all looked up to see a soldier on horseback coming up._

" _Our scouts have sighted the Faunus forces advancing on our position!" The Duun siblings both gasped, as Ragnar took a breath, and rose to his feet._

" _Come, let's go make some people free right now," he said._

 **Note: I just updated this chapter, along with chapter 69 and 75. These are small, but important changes, that I highly recommend you look at.**

 **For what it's worth, what Maria says is not real military jargon. In my experience, when a soldier/airman/sailor/marine, wants to say something, they'll just say it outright.**

 **Most of this chapter was dedicated to getting the final action scene going, and to give Pyrrha a go for her fight with Talos before Yang shows up. There's also the fight with Adam, where Blake will fight alongside Ilia instead of Adam. Something's going to happen, something that's probably not going to go well.**

 **And that was the last of the Old Ones shorts, though I might do some more in the future if inspiration hits me. I've even been entertaining doing a little spinoff series regarding the adventures of these ancestors.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	80. The Minotaur

_**The Minotaur**_

Rain continued to stare out the window forlornly, as if she could see her son from there.

"You know obsessing over this isn't going to help anything," Alistair said, as he came over with some tea, offering some to his wife. When she didn't take it, he set on the coffee table, and sat beside her.

"Saphron and Milly said everything was going well when they left," Alistair said, putting a hand on her leg, "Have a little faith in our son."

"It's not that I don't have faith in him," Rain answered, "It's just that…." She sighed, as she shook her head slightly.

"He's grown," Alistair said, pulling his wife over to him, "He's not the little boy pestering us for training anymore."

"No," Rain said, as she leaned on him, "I guess he's not. Gods, he's got _two_ girlfriends now."

"Think of it as _twice_ the grandchildren," Alistair said, kissing her on the forehead, which made Rain smile slightly. That was when a tremor then vibrated the house slightly, getting the attention of the Arcs.

"Hey Saph," Violet called, "Do you always get these kinds of quakes here in Argus?"

"No," Saphron answered, "It's actually kind of weird."

 **(on the coast)**

"I really don't know which I'd prefer," Jaune muttered, as he ran down the cliff, "Fighting a giant monster, or a giant robot." There were some words he'd never thought he'd say.

How was the group supposed to beat a giant Atlesian mech? Could they beat an Atlesian mech? If they could become dragons, maybe, but that certainly wasn't in the cards at the time. So they did what they could with the tools they had, and that wasn't much. For the time, the most they could do was run, and dodging the powerful (though slow) strikes from Cordovin in the mech.

"Drop me off!" Weiss instructed to Maria.

"You sure that's such a good idea?" Maria asked.

"Maybe not, but I'd rather do this by their side," Weiss answered. Not inclined to argue, Maria floated the Bullhead down low enough for the girl to drop off. She quickly came up next to Jaune, and kissed him on the cheek.

"I expect one of my own, later!" Ruby said in response to that.

"So, how do we bring that thing down?" Ren asked.

"We work smart, not hard," Jaune answered, "We've brought down things worse than that before."

"You could turn into dragons last time you fought a big monster," Qrow said grimly.

"All the more reason to work smart," Weiss said, as she held Myrtenaster at the ready.

"It may be a very old adage," Oz said, as he spun his cane through his fingers, "But it still rings true: the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

 **(in the woods)**

Talos blocked a strike from Pyrrha, before catching Yang's arm, and tossing her away. He then swung up his lower right arm, sending an arc of lighting enhanced fire the red head's way. The champion managed to avoid the attack, only for Talos to rocket her way, thrusting another blade down. Pyrrha just managed to dodge the attack as the blade went straight through another tree, as the gravity enhanced ice Dust caused the tree to explode into a massive chunk of ice.

Unfortunately for the android, this also caused his blade to get stuck in the ice; fortunately, he was able to rather easily wrench his arm free, but it gave just enough pause that Yang up and decked him down the head, knocking him back. Talos ground to a halt, as he fired his finger guns, which Yang had to run to avoid. Unfortunately, the android couldn't press the attack, as he had to block another strike from Pyrrha. He then slashed another blade up, using a combination of fire and gravity Dust to create a sizable blaze. Pyrrha had to move back at that, before using her shield to block a strike from another blade. She then activated her Semblance, causing him to be knocked away.

Quick to follow up, Yang then sprung at the android, punching him in the gut. While it didn't do much real damage, it did knock him off balance, and when Yang punched him in the chin, it knocked him to the ground. She tried to punch down, but Talos easily caught the fist, and used the propulsions on his feet to boost himself up, while slamming Yang into the ground.

Before he could do anything else, though, Pyrrha actually looped her mechanical leg around his neck, and tried to get him in a chokehold. Of course, that did little against an android, but id did get him off Yang. That gave her the chance to start pummeling him in his gut. Eventually, though Talos jetted into the air, where he purposely slammed himself into a tree. This caused Pyrrha to lose her grip, and knock her to the ground. Yang tried to follow up, only for the android to swing his blade up, creating an arc of fire that made her hesitate. Talos lunged though the fire, and grabbed her by the neck. As he started choking Yang, he held up another blade, and got ready to take her head off.

"Let her go!" The android only had a moment to look up, as Pyrrha knocked him upside the head with her shield. Talos quickly recovered, though, as he held up his lower left arm, and started charging his beam weapon. However, Pyrrha moved faster, as she knocked him upside the head with her shield, catching him off-foot. The champion then thrust her blade into the crook of his elbow, penetrating into a weak point. She then wrenched her spear, unleashing her Semblance, which caused Talos to be repelled back, as his arm got torn straight off. Talos tumbled back, as he skirted to a halt. He looked down towards the sparking stump, severed at the elbow. Talos wasn't capable of feeling pain, but that didn't make seeing his own arm getting ripped off any less disconcerting.

"Organic filth," he growled, clenching his remaining fists as Yang and Pyrrha regrouped. Holding up his hand, he fired another energy burst, causing the two to split up again. He then boosted himself forward as Pyrrha then activated her Semblance, forcing him back, but to her shock, the android took a step forward, then another, and another… He was resisting Pyrrha's polarity.

"How…," Pyrrha began, but she couldn't finish, as Talos stabbed forward with his blade. Pyrrha could only just avoid it, as she felt the blade graze her cheek. That wouldn't have been a problem, save for the fact it was a fire enhanced blade, and Pyrrha let out a cry as the blade burnt her cheek.

"Pyrrha!" Yang called, as Pyrrha stumbled away, holding her cheek, which now had a second degree burn on it. Talos then grabbed her organic leg, and threw her into the ground not he others side of him, before getting ready to end it. It was then that one thing came into Yang's head: save Pyrrha.

With a cry of rage, Yang then released her Semblance in one massive strike against Talos face. The force created a shockwave that sent him careening away, shattering several trees, as he slammed against a rock. He tried to pull himself up, but he did it rather stiffly, as the two noticed electricity sparking across his body. The android looked up at the girls, as they noticed half his faceplate had broken off. Talos then looked at his hand, as he diagnosed his body. While his internal body was mostly undamaged, his armor was severely dented. Growling, Talos reached up, and ripped off what remained of his faceplate.

"I might not be intact," he said, "But I'm not broken yet." With that, he moved to press the attack, but the girls were too quick. Yang punched him in the face, knocking him down. Yang then used her mechanical arm to grab Pyrrha's mechanical leg, and threw her in Talos direction. Pyrrha thrust Milo forward, and when Talos tried to avoid it, he was too slow, and Pyrrha thrust it straight through his flank. Talos grunted at that, as he pushed. He was knocked through several trees.

"This isn't over," Talos said, "This isn't even remotely over." With that, he thrust his gravity enhanced blade into the ground, kicking up a huge amount of dust. From within the dust, Talos then rocketed up and away, creating a sonic boom as he did. Knowing they had won, both women collapsed beside each other on a rock.

"Your cheek…," Yang said, as she reached for Pyrrha's cut/burn. Pyrrha hissed at the sting, before smiling slightly.

"Nothing I think my Aura can't heal," she said, "Might leave a scar, though."

"That's too bad," Yang said, "Your face hasn't had any other blemishes up to now."

"You know what Nora would say," Pyrrha quipped, in an attempt to defuse the atmosphere.

"That the scar's going to be badass," Yang said, "And I'd think she'd be right." Both women laughed slightly at that.

"Sorry about your bike," Pyrrha commented.

"She died for a good cause," Yang answered, to which Pyrrha chuckled slightly. She then lay her head back on the rock, and stared at the sky, having a suspicion that this wouldn't be the last they saw of the android.

"Mind if I lean on you?" the blonde then asked, "I'm just really tired."

"It's okay," Pyrrha answered, to which her partner proceeded to lean her head on her shoulder, as Pyrrha then wrapped her arm around her partner's shoulder, as the two rested.

 **(elsewhere in the woods)**

The battle between Blake, Ilia, and Adam had moved from the tower, and they were now fighting their way through the trees. Despite outnumbering him, Adam wasn't slowing down even slightly. And the way he was fighting…. Blake had seen him fight with hatred before, but this… this was different.

The cat leapt out of the way from one of Adam's strikes, with Ilia leaping down and striking with her whip, which Adam easily deflected. Blake then tried to lash his arm with the ribbon of Gambol Shroud. She succeeded, and pulled at him, only for Adam to pull right black. Blake wasn't happy to admit it, but the fact of the matter was Adam was physically stronger than both herself and Ilia. When the three all worked together, Adam provided the muscle, Ilia provided the stealth, and Blake provided the speed. Unfortunately, they were currently in a contest of strength, one Blake didn't win.

The cat was pulled towards the bull, who swung his sword. Blake just managed to lean out of the way, as Adam nicked a couple of her hairs. Ilia then came up from behind alma, as she tried to lash Adam with her whip, only for him to easily avoid the attack. That surprised the chameleon; she knew him to be quick, but he seemed much quicker than normal.

Blake then came up again, as she slashed Gambol Shroud, which Adam managed to parry with Wilt. The two traded blows for a time, with neither one initially able to get the upper hand, until Adam unleashed his Semblance. As he brought his blade down, releasing a shockwave that caused Blake to stumble away.

Ilia quickly followed up, as she lashed her whip. This time, she got a direct hit, wrapping around Adam's arm. He spasmed as the electricity coursed through his body, falling to one knee at that. Ilia allowed herself to smile, until she notice Adam start to stand up, as he grabbed the whip, and the eyes glared through his mask. He then pulled Ilia towards him, and punched her down once she was closing enough.

"Ilia!" Blake cried, but she didn't have time to check on her, as Blake looked up as Adam looked down at her.

"It's not that you hurt me," Adam said, "People hurt me long before you showed up." To demonstrate, he reached up, and removed his mask, revealing his left eye was scarred with a brand that had the letters "SDC". After he tossed it aside, the mask hit the ground, it disintegrated into smoke.

"You just left me alone," he said coldly, "After all we went through, you just ran away." Blake looked away briefly, before she looked up at the crown atop his head.

"That crown," she said, "It represents a time the Faunus have forgotten, a time that needs to remain in the past."

"What this crown represents is a time when the Faunus didn't live in fear, when we weren't slaves," Adam said, pointing to it, "You and I could've been the rulers of a world where the Faunus lived in peace, where we had the power."

"A world where the Faunus would be the oppressors," Blake finished, her glare hardening. She then rose to her feet, and Adam sprung at her again, only to go through a shadow clone. He looked up to see Blake retrieving Gambol Shroud.

"My ancestors brought the Empire down," Blake declared, "I'm not going to be the one in my family to let it come back!" Not long after she said that, Ilia dropped down next to her, as the two stood together against the man they once thought of as their friend. Adam stared at them for a time, as he began to shake slightly, before, to his surprise, he threw aside Wilt.

"I'm done playing this your way," he said, "I'm going to end this now!" He then held up his arms, as his Aura began to glow bright.

"What're you…," Blake started, before her eyes widened. The way his power was building, she recognized this…

"You're not the only who's become something more," Adam said coldly. Adam's body then began to twist and contort, as it grew. His horns grew out, as did his snout, taking on a truly animalistic appearance, like that of a bull. His clothes and shoes fell apart, as his feet turned into hooves. In Adam Taurus' place, was a minotaur, with the crown still atop its head. The beast held up its head and roared.

All the girls could do at the time was stare in horror and shock. The power Blake felt was similar to what she felt when she and her friends would turn into dragons, but this was different. This power was raw and primal, but at the same time, it felt corrupted, and twisted, like it was a mockery of her own.

The Minotaur let out another roar, before he charged forward. Ilia and Blake both leapt out of the way, as the beast brought down several trees in his charge. As one could expect, he looked towards Blake, and growled, before grabbing one of the trees he brought down, and swung it at the cat. She managed to avoid through another shadow clone, but the Minotaur was quickly on top of her again. He backhanded her, sending her careening away.

Dazed and confused, Blake weakly looked up to see the Minotaur digging his hooves into the ground, his attention completely focused on her. The beast then charged again, only giving Blake a chance to look up. The last thing she heard before everything went white was Ilia crying out.

 **(elsewhere in the woods)**

Yang and Pyrrha hurried down towards the sound of the rumbling, where they had a feeling their friends were. Soon enough, they arrived, where they were treated to the sight of the the group fighting the Atlesian mech.

"By the gods," Pyrrha muttered.

"Not the way I'd put it," Yang answered. They then hurried to join the fight, but as they did, they saw the Lancer that had Weiss and Ruby on it's back get swatted down. They both landed on the cliffside, and looked otherwise alright, but that didn't stop Jaune from calling out to them, and running in the direction of his girlfriends.

" _I don't think so!"_ Cordovin declared. She then slammed the mech's fist into the ground in front of Jaune, knocking him to the ground. Jaune then looked up to see the fist in the air.

" _Now you shall face Atlesian justice!"_ Cordovin declared, as she prepared to bring the fist down. Jaune could only look up in horror.

"NO!" Ruby and Weiss both cried, as everyone instinctively reached for their friend. Right then, everything went white…

 _(/)_

 _The whole of RYPJ and BRWN were suddenly in a white void, alone save for each other._

" _Pyrrha?" Yang asked._

" _Yang?" her partner answered._

" _What's going on?" Nora asked._

" _Where are we?" Jaune asked._

" _Jaune!" Ruby and Weiss both called upon noticing him. The two ran up, and both all but tackled him. If not for the small statures of both girls, Jaune probably would've been knocked to the ground. Instead he just returned the hugs, as he kept looking around._

" _I've… seen this place before," Jaune muttered, as his memories went back far. All the way back to when this whole adventure began…._

" _ **YOU ARE ALL DOING OTHERWISE WELL WITHOUT ME."**_ _The group all froze, as they heard that oh so familiar voice. The eight then all looked over, as Darkness loomed over them._

 **Note: Talos has been beaten, Adam's apparently got transformation powers, and, most importantly, Darkness has returned..**

 **I knew I didn't want Pyrrha and Yang to use their dragon powers against Talos, since I thought it would make for a better fight if they used their normal fighting abilities against an android like him. Speaking of the metal man, he's down, but he sure as hell ain't out yet.**

 **Being honest, I was really disinterested in the fight with the mech, where there wasn't anything to add in this story yet; so I omitted most of it, and you can assume it went (mostly) the same as it did in canon. My real interest with with the fights against Talos and Adam. That's where I can insert my own twists and ideas. To that end, I didn't bother with much direct discussion on this chapter. There just wasn't enough to do.**

 **Be sure to review. Seriously, folks. Also, in case you missed what I said last chapter, I made small but important edits the previous chapter, along with 69 and 75. This includes how Adam now has the crown of the Wild Empire.**


	81. Return of the Dragons

_**Return of the Dragons**_

 _Darkness loomed before his students, as they all stared at him. Some of them were starting to think they'd never see him again, and yet here he was, in front of them. He then turned back into his humanoid form, and came closer to them._

" _You're… you're back," Weiss said._

" _ **I am,"**_ _Darkness answered, as he folded his arms behind his back_ _ **, "So…"**_

" _Please don't go again!" Ruby said suddenly said, as she came up to him, "I'm sorry I said what I said!"_

" _We_ do _need you!" Yang said, "Please come back!"_

" _Look, we need your help!" Jaune said, "We need our powers, we need…."_

" _ **I was wrong."**_ _Everyone was silenced as they stared up at the god looking down at them._

" _ **My mistake was believing that the mortals had an obligation to my brother and I,"**_ _Darkness explained_ _ **, "We were your creators, and as your creators, I believed you had an obligation to honor us, to revere us. But now I realize that it is my brother and I, your creators, who hd an obligation to**_ **you** _ **."**_

" _What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked._

" _ **A creator has an obligation to their creations,"**_ _the god continued_ _ **, "To guide them, to teach them, to ensure they are put on the right path. The mortals of my age rebelled because we failed to properly guide them. It was because of our mistakes, because of our decision to sit at a distance from them. We came to view our creations as our project, instead of as our children."**_

" _Your children?" Nora echoed._

" _ **Yes,"**_ _Darkness answered with a nod_ _ **, "You may need me, but I also need you."**_ That _, the group certainly wasn't expecting. It wasn't ever day a god told someone_ he _needed_ them _._

 _ **"** **You gave me respect, regard, and appreciation, things the mortals of the ages past would never offer. For** **the first time, I was receiving the reverence and honor that had long been reserved for my brother. For you to send me away after that…."**_ _He was silent, as he shook his head slightly._

" _Well, we were wrong too," Jaune said, as he stepped forward. Darkness looked at him, and cocked his head slightly._

" _You've done so much for us, you were more than a god to us," the blonde continued, "You were a teacher."_

" _A guardian," Ruby added._

" _A savior," Blake said._

" _A guide," Ren said._

" _A friend," Nora said._

" _A parent," Weiss finally said, blinking away a few tears, "And when you were gone…" She trailed off slightly, looking away._

" _We just didn't know what to do," Jaune finished for her. Darkness was silent for a time, before he took a breath._

" _So… what are you going to do now?" Jaune asked._

" _ **I cannot undo the mistakes of the past,"**_ _Darkness said_ _ **, "But I am not going to repeat the mistakes back then either."**_ _He then held up his hand, as eight orbs of multicolored light appeared in his hand. The group recognized what those orbs were._

" _Are those…," Blake began._

" _ **I can sense the day of judgement by brother has ordained will soon be upon you,"**_ _Darkness said_ _ **, "I cannot change that, the only thing I can do is do everything in my power to help, so that you can achieve this future yourself."**_ _He then held out his hand, as the eight lights floated in front of them. Smiles slowly spread across the faces of all those presence._

 _(/)_

" _ **Now go with me, and save your world."**_

Familiar power surged through the veins of all those familiar, as their Auras glowed brilliantly. With both of them recognizing what this meant, both Qrow and Oz fell back. The glow then consumed the area, much to the surprise of Cordovin.

"What in the name of the gods?" she muttered. That was an apt way of putting it, as the glow faded, and the teens were seemingly gone. Cordovin only had a moment to wonder where they were, as she was suddenly rocked inside of her mech. She looked around, but didn't see anything, before she got struck in the side again. That was quickly followed by a flash of red past the viewing port, followed in short order by something striker her mech again. Fortunately, the mech's shields were holding, but that didn't make Cordovin any less irritated.

"What's going on?!" she demanded. She quickly got her answer, as a yellow, Mistrali dragon suddenly floated in front of her.

" **You don't know who you're messing with,"** Yang said, giving a draconic smile. She then slammed forward, striking the mech with her head. Though the shield still deflected it, it caused the entire mech to stumble back. This was followed in short order by Ruby dashing by, bathing the mech in her flames. Though the shields were holding up, Cordovin could see that their strength was very gradually declining. That was no small fleet; this machine was designed to be able to resist attacks from the largest Grimm in the seas.

" _How'd they get their powers back?"_ Oscar asked, as he, Oz, and Qrow watched from the cliff.

"I have a pretty good idea," Oz said, narrowing his eyes.

" **How astute, Ozma."** That made both males jump slightly as Darkness materialize behind them.

"When did you get back?" Qrow asked.

" **Recently,"** Darkness said, as he stepped forward, telekinetically moving the two out of them, as he watched his students fighting the mech. During this, Oz was trying of thinking of something to say to him.

" **I have nothing to say to you,"** Darkness interjected **, "The reasons for my return are between myself, and the children. Do not ask any questions, because you will not receive any answers."** Oz wanted to protest that, but had been around long enough to know better.

"I miss things when they were simpler," Qrow grumbled as he took another swig from his flask.

During all of this, Cordovin tried to fire the mech's missiles; these were tracer missiles, and when they started to track Jaune, he was quickly saved by Weiss coming up, and releasing her ice breath, freezing all the missiles.

 _Thanks!_ Jaune said.

 _I expect a proper thank you later_ Weiss answered, as she smiled at her boyfriend.

 _Hey!_ Ruby protested _I wanted to be the one to save him!_

 _To quote an old adage, you snooze you lose!_ Weiss said. Jaune would've laughed at that, but figured now probably wasn't an appropriate time.

"You infernal…," Cordovin growled, as she held up the arm cannon, and moved to fire it. Eager to get her own success in, Ruby breathed her fire into the cannon. This caused the canon to burst into explode, and Cordovin was forced to enact an emergency protocol and disconnect the arm from the body. It was becoming progressively apparent the commander had little chance against these dragons, but Cordovin was never one to give up like that.

"For Atl…," she tried to say, but once again, the dragons were far quicker. Ren and Nora then held their heads up as they inhaled and exhaled as one. A massive swirl of fire got a direct hit on the mech, and to Cordovin's shock the shield gave way.

"How in the…" Cordovin couldn't finish again, as Pyrrha came up, dragging her heated tail blade across the body of the mech, leaving deep gashes, and weakening the armor's integrity. That was when Jaune made his move. He folded his wings in, and dove forward, right into the cockpit; he tore through the cockpit, snatching Cordovin as he burst out the other end. The mech collapsed into the water, as Jaune flapped overhead, holding Cordovin in one of his claws.

The specialists was so befuddled by what was going on, she could only gawk at what was happening. Then, to her surprise, after floating down to the cliff, the dragon then set the woman gently on the ground.

" **Please,"** Jaune said softly, as he stood before her **, "Just stay out of our way."** With that, Ruby bent her neck down to allow Oz to get on, while Yang did the same for Qrow, and the dragons all took wing and flew away, as Maria followed in the airship. Cordovin tried to babble slightly, but all she ended up doing was fainting.

 **(in the woods)**

Ilia had to avert her eyes as Blake's Aura flared up, and even the Minotaur hesitated at the sight of it. But soon it faded, and from that glow shot several barbs, which lodged itself in the Minotaur's shoulder. The beast roared in pain, as he stumbled back, holding his shoulder, as a black dragon sprung forward, using the blades on it's wings to leave a gash across the Minotaur's flank. Blake skidded to a halt, beside Ilia, hissing as she beat her tail on the ground a couple times in intimidation.

" **Are you okay?"** she asked her friend.

"Uh… yeah," Ilia answered, as she got to her feet, "I think so." Blake nodded at that, before she turned her attention back to the Minotaur, which was digging it's hoof into the ground.

" **I'm not sure where you got those powers,"** Blake said (actually she had an idea, but didn't want to think about that right now) **, "But all it's bring what you've become on the inside, outside."** As if to punctuate her point, the Minotaur roared again, as he lowered his horns, and he charged.

In response, Blake inhaled deeply, before releasing her black flames. The Minotaur held up its arm to block, as the fire consumed it. Ilia stared shock at the sight, though when the flames receded, it showed that the beast's Aura had deflected the worst of the flames. Having suspected this, though, the dragon pounced at the Minotaur, tackling it to the ground.

The two wrestled and rolled on the ground for a time, with Ilia having to leap out of the way to avoid getting crushed. The reptile bit into the neck of the beast, and raked her claws across his torso, though the Aura of the Minotaur kept the worst of the damage off her. The Minotaur grabbed the dragon's throat, and held her at bay, before he managed to kick her off. The dragon roared, as she breathed more fire, but the Minotaur charged right through the flames, and punched Blake right in the face. The force sent her tumbling away, but before Blake could recover, she felt someone grab her tail. She only had time to look up briefly as the Minotaur threw her over his shoulder, and into the ground.

"Blake!" Ilia called.

" **I'm okay!"** Blake said, before she opened her wings, and flapped up slightly. The dust kicked up obscured the Minotaur's sight, giving the dragon time to dive down, and into him. She then sank her teeth into his throat, not doing any damage, but still weakening the Aura even more. Eventually, the Minotaur then kicked her off again, as Blake rolled away, and looked up.

The Minotaur roared, as he lowered his head, and charged again. Blake then released her own roar, as she sprung at the beast again, her blades at the ready, and she slashed down as she passed him. And when she did so, his Aura shattered. Everything suddenly came to a halt, as the Minotaur paused, and put a hand on his chest, and then looked at his hand. It was covered with blood, from a huge gash was now across his chest.

The Minotaur grunted slightly, holding the injury, before falling to his knees. With that, he began to shrink, as he slowly turned back into Adam. As he did, Blake turned back into her Faunus form, as she approached him. When he collapsed forward, Blake's reflexes kicked in, and she caught him. As she did so, from the sky watched the High Spirit of Memory, glaring down at the one she bestowed the power to.

" _Useless,"_ Mnemosyne muttered, before she turned into orange mist, and disappeared. Blake held Adam for a time, as he gasped for air. As she looked down at him, Blake's anger started to fade away, as it turned into pity.

"Was it worth it?" she asked softly, "Was any of this worth it?" Adam looked up and stared at the sky.

"I… I just wanted to…" The bull coughed slightly, barely able to form the words, but Blake knew what he was going to say.

"So did I," she answered.

"Why… why did it all go wrong?" Adam asked.

"It went wrong, when you decided the many needed to suffer for what the few had done to you," Blake answered truthfully. Upon hearing that, a look of realization came into Adam's eyes, as if he had a deathbed epiphany. He just looked up into the blue sky.

"Do you regret anything?" Blake asked.

"I… I…" It looked like he had more to say, but nothing come out of his mouth, as Adam Taurus' head and eyes rolled back. Blake felt her eyes getting misty; she wasn't sure why, but that didn't change things.

"Maybe in death, you can finally find some peace," she said softly, as she closed his eyes, and gently lay his body down for someone to find someday. Ilia came up from behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder, to which Blake smiled, as she rose to her feet, wiping her eyes.

Upon noticing it beside Adam's head, she then picked up the crown, and looked into the eyes of the animals that decorated it. She was tempted to throw it away, just like Neith did, but she knew not to do that. Blake would keep this crown for now, so as to never forget what she came all too close to coming to. With that in mind, she hung the crown on her belt, as Ilia came up. She put her hand on Blake's shoulder, who smiled at her friend.

"We need to go," she said as she stood back up, and gestured, "Stand back." Once Ilia had done so, Blake turned back into her dragon form, before she bent her head down, gesturing for Ilia to climb on. One she did, Blake opened her wings, and took flight. It didn't take too long for her to find where her friends were, further down the cliff, where the Bullhead was parked.

"Hey Blake!" Yang called, "I thought…" She stopped as Blake reverted to human form, showing her distant look.

"What happened?" Pyrrha asked.

"Adam happened," Blake said grimly. That quickly got everyone's attention, especially Yang's.

"Are you okay?" Oz asked.

"More or less."

"What happened to Adam?" Yang asked. Blake was silent, ass he looked away slightly.

"He's… not going to be a problem anymore," Ilia said. Everyone got the idea, so nobody pursued the topic any further from there.

"Well, looks like we're done here," Nora said, "Let's…"

" **Are you though?"** The group looked to see Darkness standing on the Bullhead's roof. Ilia flinched back at the sight, surprised to see him back. Maria looked up at that, and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it, apparently unable to find any really words. With that she just took a breath.

"Well, I guess at this age, this is may be the only thing that may surprise me," she said.

"We'll explain later," Ruby said, before looking up to her teacher, "What is it?"

" **Get in the flying machine, and I can show you."** The group did as he told them, and Maria took back off.

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked as the were flying back towards Argus. Darkness just pointed, and when the group followed his finger out to the sea, that was when they saw it, and their curiosity turned to horror. Slowly approaching the city was a Grimm, but one that was larger than any Grimm they had ever seen. It was bipedal and had a tail, with a large dorsal sail going down it's back, with a dolphin like-head and a pair four gills on each side of it's head.

"It's a Leviathan," Maria said, "Not many of them left in Remnant."

"Look!" Ruby said, pointing. The people followed the finger, as they saw a horde of Grimm trailing the Leviathan.

"Where did they come from?!" Jaune cried.

" **I have a suspicion they might not be here of their own accord,"** Darkness said. True enough, seated on the head of the Leviathan were two Spirits.

" _Mortal settlements,"_ Dagon grumbled, as he stared at the nearing city _, "Such filthy places."_

" _Save it for now,"_ Shauskha said _, "We have something to do."_

 **Note: I had originally called this chapter** _ **Dragon vs. Minotaur**_ **, but I thought this title would be more apt.**

 **So Darkness and the team have had a much needed talk about everything. I feel both sides needed to make personal concessions, especially Darkness.**

 **So Maria now knows the truth about Darkness. I'm of the mind that at her age, while she'd be surprised, she'd be too experienced and weathered to have a freak out like some of the characters would.**

 **So yeah, I killed Adam in this. I feel his arc has run its course at this point, and continuing it would lag the story for now.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	82. The Guardians of Remnant

_**The Guardians of Remnant.**_

"This is… amazing," Drago muttered.

"Hmmm, truly, this is power," Slate said. Carmine just remained silent, as she stared in amazement at the Bullhead that stood in front of them all.

"Good, you're all already here." The three turned to see Cinder emerging from the shadows. She had changed her clothes, and now had on a black dress that exposed her right leg, that had silver lining of all things, as well as a silver glove. On the scarred side of her face was a black mask, that had a mouth and an eye on it.

"We need to move quickly," she said as she approached them, "I doubt people like us can go unnoticed coming into Atlas."

"Relax," Slate said smoothly, "Have… good connections there." Cinder scowled, still not liking that oily voice of his.

" _Do you doubt my powers?"_ The group looked up to see Vishnu manifesting over the Bullhead. He had been the one who gave them this airship, having created it with his magic.

"No," Cinder said, as she smiled, "Not at all." Rather disturbingly, the mouth on Cinder's mask smiled as well.

"This power," Drago muttered, staring at the sight of the High Spirit.

"You're… a god," Carmine said. At that, Vishnu's brow furrowed.

" _No, I'm not a god,"_ he hissed _, "I'm a Spirit."_ The way he talked, it was like he resented being referred to like that, before he floated up, and away. Cinder narrowed her eyes at the sight, before she hopped into the ship, the rest not far behind her.

"You know, someone once asked me if I believed in destiny," Cinder said. As she said that, the doors of the ship started to close on her new team.

"And I'm glad to say, I still do," she said, as she and the other's smiled.

 **(in Argus)**

The Leviathan, named "Nun", continued the advance towards the city, slowly lumbering towards the city. During all this, the Spirits sat on it's head.

" _Nun does not disappoint,"_ Shauskha commented.

" _Truly of all the younger's creations, this is one of the greatest,"_ Dagon said with a smug smile. Shauskha glared at her brother, before glancing at all the other Grimm in the sky over head, mostly consisting of Manticores, Griffins, and Nevermores. Not all Grimm were bonded to a Spirit (there were _way_ more Grimm than Spirits), but all Spirits were bonded to Grimm. Shauskha had been bonded to Juracan, much how Dagon was bonded to Nun, and Viridios was bonded to Vritra.

" _Remember, spare the one with two Auras, and make sure the lamp is intact,"_ Shauskha said.

" _Relax,"_ Dagon answered _, "I was listening, after all."_ He then leaned down, and whispered to Nun.

" _Its time, old friend,"_ he hissed. Nun then bellowed before, it advanced closer to the city. Normally, the mech would be used for something like this, though that of course wasn't an option anymore. In another attempt at defense, the Atlesians deployed the forcefields against the beast. The creature merely looked at the barrier, before it opened its mouth, and out of it burst a stream of fire. The barrier barely lasted a couple minutes before it fell apart. Nun roared again, before it kept moving forward.

" _Mortal fools,"_ Dagon sneered.

" _That's redundant,"_ Shauskha said. She then looked up to see a number of Bullheads coming their way, firing their missiles, which were harmlessly deflected by the Leviathan's thick hide. The Bullheads were quickly attacked by the airborne Grimm.

During all this, RYPJ and BRWN were on the Bullhead, looking over this.

"Where did these things come from?" Ilia asked.

"Could it be another Spirit?" Blake asked.

"From what I have observed, that would be likely," Shade said. As they all watched as the Grimm descended on the city, nobody even bothered to ask what to do. Just about every single person in that helicopter knew exactly what had to happen.

 **(in downtown Argus)**

The people of Argus were fleeing to the Grimm shelters that lay scattered across the city. This included the Arcs, as they tried to get the shelter before the Grimm could reach the city proper.

"Come on!" Alistair called, who was holding Lapis in his arm, as he waved his family down the road.

"Where did all these Grimm come from?" Violet asked.

"Talk later!" Azure said, "Run now!" Unfortunately, as they were running, Flynn, whose mother was leading him by the tentacle suddenly tripped, and was briefly left behind.

"Mommy!" he cried. All the Arcs turned in horror upon hearing the child cry out.

"FLYNN!" his parents, aunts, and grandparents all screamed together. Jade was the first to move, as she dove towards her nephew. She promptly snatched him up, just as a Griffin bore down on her, and she held him defensively and shut her eyes in anticipation.

Right then, there was another tremendous roar, and a flare of heat, and the Griffin was consumed in yellow flames. Jade and Flynn looked up to see a golden dragon soaring overhead, followed closely by several more dragons, making eight in total. Breathing their flames (and in the case of one "ice"), they destroyed dozens of Grimm almost instantly. One red dragon with what looked like rose petals on its wings tackled against a Manticore, and proceeded to rip it apart with its bare claws, and what looked like vines coming from its back. A white dragon, the one breathing ice, flash froze a Nevermore coming down towards another group. Electricity crackled around a pink dragon, before releasing in a massive discharge that wiped out another several Grimm. Two of the dragons, one red, one yellow, both serpentine, circled each other, creating a spiral of flames before slamming into a Thunderbird, destroying it instantly.

As the great reptiles flew over them, everyone couldn't help but stop and stare in awe at the sight. Eventually, Milly and Hunter were able to tear their eyes away from the sight move and go to their son.

"Mommy!" Flynn cried, "Daddy!" He was scooped into the arms of his mother, who all but crushed him in her arms.

"And here I thought that would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Terra muttered, remembering when she had seen the red, serpentine dragon, while Adrian smiled at the sight. Meanwhile, in the Bullhead that flew by, could only watch in awe at the sight.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Oz asked Maria.

"I'm only glad I lived long enough to witness it," Maria said, unable to tear her eyes away from the spectacle. As she watched, Ilia's lips pursed in thought, before she glanced towards Shade.

"I was won…" She stopped when she saw that he was gone.

During all this, while the Grimm numbers continued to rapidly plummet in the face of the dragons, the Leviathan continued to advance forward. Dagon and Shauskha watched in shock as their army was being completely annihilated.

" _You never told me about these things,"_ Dagon growled.

" _I… I didn't know,"_ Shauskha murmured _, "They didn't have these powers when they fought Juracan."_

" _How could they have gotten these powers?"_ Dagon asked _, "This magic, it almost feels like…"_

" **It should be familiar."** A feeling of pure horror set upon the Spirits, they slowly looked behind them to see the towering form of the God of Darkness standing behind them.

" **I do not know how long you have tormented the mortals of this world,"** he said coldly **, "But rest assured, they will stop you, and your masters."** The Spirits couldn't even say anything, as they stared in horror at the sight.

" **Prepare, for your end will soon be upon you."** With that, the god vanished, leaving the Spirits to stare at the space he once stood in.

As if to compound their problems, the majority of their Grimm were now piles of ash and smoke. The people of Argus had now all stopped running, and were just staring in awe as their saviors continued to burn the monsters that had once threatened them.

"What are they?" Cyan asked.

"Dragons," Aoki said sarcastically. No one was in the mood for her sarcasm, but no one was in the mood to criticize her about it either.

"Guardians," Rain murmured, as she stepped forward, "That's what I'd say they are."

 _How many are left?_ Jaune asked, as he incinerated another Grimm.

 _Most of them are gone,_ Ren said _But that Leviathan is still coming our way._ Jaune flapped his wings to hover in the air, narrowing his eyes.

 _Ruby! Weiss!_ he called _With me!_ Both dragons were quickly following him towards the Leviathan. Once they got close enough, they all bathed the beast in their respective breath weapons. However, the fire/ice didn't seem to phase it. Nun then roared, as it swung one of its webbed claws, which the group managed to evade due to how slow it was.

" _It'll take a lot more than that to damage Nun,"_ Dagon said. As he said that, his sister floated up, and looked at the dragons.

" _Remember me?"_ she asked. The dragons both stared at her for a time, before Ruby's eyes widened in realization.

" **You're that Spirit from the farm!"** she said.

" _How astute,"_ Shauskha sneered.

" **Why are you here?"** Weiss demanded.

" _I don't know why you didn't have these powers when you fought Juracan,"_ Shauskha said, ignoring her _, "But I suppose it doesn't matter at this point. Where is the lamp?"_ That surprised the dragons slightly, though they supposed it shouldn't have; Jinn was one of the High Spirits after all.

" **Not with us,"** Ruby growled. Shauskha hissed, as she clenched her fists, knowing she could do nothing to them. Fortunately for her, Nun swung his claws at them, forcing them

" _Spare at least one of them!"_ she said _, "We need them to find the lamp!"_

" _Screw that!"_ her brother answered _, "I ain't taking any risks with these things!"_ Shauskha looked to protest, but was drowned out by the sound of Nun roaring again. The Leviathan released its fire beam again, forcing them to scatter. As he tried to think of options, Jaune pursed his memory and knowledge for any potential strategy. Their individual breath attacks obviously weren't enough,e even together. Perhaps if they pooled their energy together, they'd have better luck, but… That was when Jaune remembered something: a _very_ clear memory.

 _I've got an idea!_ Jaune called, getting his girlfriends' attention _It's kind of a long shot…_

 _We're dragons right now, Jaune_ Weiss interrupted _I don' think there are "long shots" anymore._

 _She's got a point_ Ruby relented. And who was Jaune to argue with _both_ of his girlfriends (there was something he'd never thought he'd ever be thinking).

 _Okay!_ he said _Converge on me!_ The girls did as instructed, and came up to him, as Jaune opened his wings, and held out his claws. While not sure where he was going, Ruby used a vine to wrap around one claw, while Weiss took the other in her own. Jaune's then lit up brilliantly, as all their eyes started glowing. Weiss recognized this feeling, but Ruby didn't. It was inexplicable, save that it felt…. warm. They all started glowing, before a brilliant, white-gold Aura consumed the three beasts. The glow was so bright, it could be seen across the whole city, and even the Spirits had to shield their eyes. But when what emerged from the light could be seen, they could not tear their eyes off it.

It was a three-headed dragon.

While not as big as the Leviathan, the dragon was still quite large, easily as large as a Goliath. The right head was Ruby's, the middle head Jaune's, and the left head Weiss', with gold scales streaked with red, a white sail going down its back, and icicle-like spines down its tail. It's wings were red with white spots, and what petal like scales run the length of the wing arm. The dragon held up all three of its heads, and let out a roar that seemed to shake the entire city, as everyone had to cover their ears, even making Nun take a step back.

However, it quickly recovered, and released its breath weapon. However, the Aura and scales of the dragon deflected the worst of the attack, as the dragon didn't so much as flinch, while beating its wings to stay in the air, staring down Nun.

" **WE DO NOT KNOW WHY YOU SEEK DESTRUCTION UPON THE INNOCENT PEOPLE OF THIS CITY AND THIS WORLD,"** the dragon thundered in three different voices **, "BUT WE WILL NEVER ALLOW YOU TO DO SO!"** The dragon inhaled deeply though all three of its heads, before unleashing a tremendous torrent of fire and ice. Knowing what this meant, but Dagon and Shauskha fled. Meanwhile, Nun unleashed it's own breath weapon, which clashed with the dragon breath. However, it only lasted a moment, before it was overwhelmed. Nun didn't mouth have time to roar, as it was completely consumed in the fire/ice, and utterly obliterated. The two Spirits, Dagon especially, were left to gawk as the smoke (all that remained of Nun) floated away.

" _We need to get out of here!"_ Shauskha said _, "The High Ones need to be alerted!"_ Dagon could only nod in agreement, as the two started flying back into the sea. Unfortunately, they quickly set upon by Pyrrha and Yang. The two looked up in horror at the two serpentine dragons looming over them.

" **Not so fun when you're on the other end?"** Pyrrha hissed.

" _We can help you!"_ Dagon said _, "Any questions you want, we can answer!"_ That would've been tempting, but both girls were privy enough by now to know better.

" **Nice try,"** was all Yang answered with. With that, both Spirits could only scream, as they were both annihilated in the dragon fire. The three headed dragon let out one more roar, before it was consumed in a glow, as it split into three separate dragons. They then flew away into the distance, while the rest of the dragons soon followed after them.

"There's something you can tell your own grandchildren about," Alistair said to Lapis as the Arcs watched the drakes disappear.

"Blech!" Lapis grumbled, sticking out her tongue, to the amusement of her family.

 **(in the Bullhead)**

"Whew!" Yang said, stretching, "That was a workout!"

"It feels so good to be able to fly again!" Nora declared, "I'm never going to walk again if I can help it!"

"You probably won't be able to," Ren commented. RYPJ and BRWN were all resting after their fight, while Maria piloted the ship North.

"I'm actually starting to wish I could become a dragon," Ilia said from her own seat.

"By the way," Blake said, looking to Pyrrha, "What happened to your cheek?" Pyrrha looked away slightly, as she put her hand to her face where Talos had cut her with his fire-enhanced blade. It was bandaged up, though there was probably going to be a scar.

"It's nothing, really," she said, "Just a… run in with someone."

"What happened?" Ruby asked, concerned.

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Yang said from her position next to Pyrrha, as the two smiled at each other. Ruby looked at her sister, than at Pyrrha.

"Scars are a sign of experience," Dr. Shade said, as he suddenly materialized in the airship, "Carry it with pride." Everyone's attention as suddenly on him, as everyone stared in silence for a while.

"Now, if you could tear your attention from me for a moment…" The doctor couldn't finish, as suddenly just about the whole of RYPJ and BRWN, even the normally stoic Ren and Blake hugged him (Ren _may have_ been dragged by Nora, though). Shade was surprised at this sudden sign of affection, as the eight people all squeezed him.

"Please don't leave us again!" Ruby said softly, as she tightened her hold him. Shade was silent for a moment, before smiling gently, as he reached up to return the hugh.

"I will never leave any of you again," he said, "I promise." Despite himself, Oz smiled at the sight. This certainly wasn't the god he remembered, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

"So now we've got a three-headed dragon?" Nora asked as everyone returned to their seats, "How'd that work?"

"It was Jaune's idea," Weiss said, putting everyone's attention on the blonde.

"It's…. hard to explain," Jaune said, as his face pinched in thought, "I just activated my Semblance, used it on them, and it just sort of…. happened."

"How does that work?" Blake asked.

"I have a theory," Shade said, getting their attention, "The way your magic works is it uses your Aura to reshape your bodies. As far as I can tell, Jaune's Semblance allows him to enhance and strengthen the Auras of others by imbuing them with his own Aura. This, essentially, causes his Aura to merge with your's, meaning your magic and his magic also merge. I believe this is what allows you to fuse together in your dragon forms."

"I…. guess that makes sense," Weiss said.

"If you try to explain magic logically, you'll inevitably be disappointed," Shade said, "At any rate, I cannot see any real side effects to the proc…" Shade suddenly stopped talking, as he bent down towards them, looking at them carefully. Suddenly he blinked in what looked like surprise.

"Well, I did not expect that."

"What is it?" Ruby asked, suddenly nervous.

"You are both pregnant."

 **(in the Land of Darkness)**

Salem continued to gently caress the glowing orange orb, softly humming to it. She was sitting at a table with, the other two orbs in front of her. While at glance the orbs were of no significance, to Salem, they were the most precious items in Remnant, and beyond. Why one may ask? Because they held the souls of her daughters.

After they were killed in crossfire of her and Ozma's duel, Salem used old magic to catch their souls in these orbs. Even if there was the slightest chance of her being able to get them back, she would spend as long as she could trying to achieve that. Unfortunately, she only had three: the blue was Marie (the eldest), the orange was Jane, and the pink was Cleopatra, but she could never find the soul of her youngest daughter, Anastasia. She didn't know where her baby had gone, and to this day, the thought of her lost terrified the witch.

"Soon, my darlings," she said, as she held the orb close to her chest, "Soon."

" _Salem."_ Salem's expressions turned hard, as she noticed red mist gather in the room, and loom over her.

"What do you want?"

" _I'm afraid we need to speak,"_ the mist said. At that, Salem rolled her eyes.

"I tire of speaking to fog," she said, turning her attention back to Jane's orb, "Speak to me directly." There was some silence, before the mist laughed slightly, and coalesced into a being.

The spirit had bright red skin, with a bald head, wearing a white tunic lined with gold and an usekh around his neck, while his left, pointed ear had an earring in it. His eyes were a brilliant red, with the same black sclera as his siblings. His name was Thoth, the High Spirit of Order, and the eldest and mightiest of the High Spirits.

" _You're right!"_ Thoth said, smiling _, "This is a better way of talking."_ Salem just glared at him.

"What is it?" she then asked.

" _It is about your failure at Haven."_ That got Salem to look at the Spirit directly, before rising to her feet.

"I told you earlier…," she began.

" _We remember,"_ Mnemosyne said as she and Vishnu joined their elder brother.

" _They now have the knowledge of our youngest sister at their disposal,"_ Vishnu said _, "This could be a potentially devastating set back."_

"My plans are in my motion," Salem said, as she rose to her feet to face them, "When the time comes, Atlas will be brought low." At that, Thoth actually laughed.

" _All these wheels within wheels,"_ he said darkly _, "What have they really accomplished? You insist on playing this intricate chess game with your former lover, when you can accomplish things far simpler with more direct action."_ The mention of Ozma sent an anger shock through Salem's body, as she involuntarily clenched her fists, and looked at the orbs again.

"Just what did you have in mind?" she then asked after calming herself.

" _Oh, be assured this has little to do with you,"_ Thoth said _, "We will be taking a more… personal role in coming matters."_

"And what does that mean?" There was a period of silence, before a smile came over all of three of them. A smile Salem had long learned, never meant anything good. With that, Mnemosyne shifted into a different form, Salem's form. A rare chill ran down the spine of the witch.

"The hearts of men, are easily swayed," she said darkly, in Salem's voice. A horrific realization then came upon the witch.

"No!" Salem said, "You can't…"

" _Thank you, my child,"_ Thoth interrupted, leaning down _, "We will not forget all you have done for us."_ Before Salem could even do anything, Thoth flicked his wrist, and a portal appeared. The only thing the witch had time to do was telekinetically summon the orbs to her, before the portal consumed her, leaving the Spirits alone.

" _We must act quickly from here on,"_ Thoth said, as he turned to his siblings _, "Mnemosyne, remain here, and be the face those here want to see. Vishnu, go back to Mistral, and begin preparations."_

" _What about you?"_ Vishnu asked.

" _I'll be going to Atlas,"_ Thoth answered, as he smiled _,"The place is already in disorder. Perhaps it's time I… affect things."_

 **Note: And with that, Vol. 6 winds to a close. Now I know that Weiss and Ruby getting pregnant appears out of nowhere, but I'm going to say that this was planned for some time (it was an idea since before I settled on couple). This won't be a "usual" pregnancy, and there is going to be a personal twist on how it's going to go.**

 **It's now been revealed the significance of these orbs, which I imagine some people have already guessed; more will be revealed in time, but rest assured, Salem's story is** far **from over. Also all four of the High Spirits have been named. Thoth, of course, is the name of the Ancient Egyptian god of wisdom. While al the lesser Spirits are named after gods associated with fertility and creation, I named the High Spirits after the aspect they embodied, or at least had a connection to. I decided to name Thoth after the god of wisdom mostly because I though the name was better, honestly. And now they're going to be taking a more active role in things.**

 **Now, before going into Vol. 7, I'm going to be doing some character bits for Salem's OC allies: Talos, Bai, Magenta, and Crane, in that order.**

 **I edited out the opinion piece on Adam I had out of the previous chapter, as well as the one I was going to include here. Apparently, I underestimated how strongly some people felt for this subject, and I got some "strongly worded" counters to it, including one Guest that went so far as to call me a hypocrite. I don't want to have to keep responding to these things, and get passive aggressively judged on random opinion I have on a work of fiction, and have people only consider that while reading the chapter.**

 **Be sure to review. This author's note is getting a bit too long for me right now, so I'm going to do the Vol. 6 retrospective next chapter. At any rate, as we enter Act 3, thanks to everyone whose stuck with me all this way.**

 **As a final note, in this day and age, with COVID-19 spreading like wildfire, please stay healthy, and quarantine yourself if you can. Regardless of how deadly it actually is, no one wants to get it, and if doctors are advising people to play it safe, perhaps it's best to play it safe for now.**


	83. Character Short: Talos

_**Character Short:**_

 _ **Talos**_

" _People ask if androids have dreams; they should be asking if they have nightmares."_

In the Western edge of Solitas, an Atlesian convoy was being tasked to deliver some very important cargo to a fortress that sat on the coast. The convoy consisted of four military vehicles driven by armed soldiers, while a large truck rumbled in the middle of the military vehicles. During this, the woman sitting in the shotgun seat of the front truck studied a map.

"It should less than an hour now," he said.

"And then we just have to worry about the drive back," the driver grumbled, as she turned slightly, "Four, gods damned hours in this thing."

"Almost done," the navigator said with a slight chuckle as he set the map aside, and looked out the window. They kept driving for a little while, before the driver narrowed her eyes slightly, as he leaned forward.

"What is it?" the navigator asked.

"It looks like there's… someone there," the driver said. The navigator followed her gaze, as he did indeed see what looked like a shape through the snow.

"Look alive," he said through the slot to the back, where the rest of the soldiers were setting, before speaking into his radio, "Halt the convoy!" The convoy did exactly that, as each vehicle came to a halt, before soldiers all quickly disembarked.

"Identify yourself!" the leader called out, and when he received no response, he repeated, "Identify yourself, or be treated as a hostile." Fortunately for them, the snows began to subside, revealing a tall, armored figure, with glowing green eyes.

"What the hell..," the driver muttered. Talos just peered through the snow, as he clenched his three remaining fists, and unsheathed his blades.

 _(/)_

" _Almost," Pietro Polendina said, as his brow furrowed in concentration. He plugged another wire into a node, before he then affixed a small device into another node._

" _Alright," he muttered, as he closed panel, before his chair shuffled back, so he could look at his masterpiece. It was an android, tall and thin, with a skeletal frame. Building the body had been the easy part, the hard part had been building the positronic brain that would control it all._

" _Well, moment of truth," Pietro said to himself, as he picked a remote off the table and turned towards his work, "Brothers be with us." With that, he pressed a button. The machine's body spasmed, as power surged through it, before it suddenly sat up so quickly it slipped off the table._

" _Yes!" Pietro said, slamming a fist on the armrest of his chair in triumph, "It worked!" The android would've been gasping if it had lungs, but instead, it shakily rose to it's feet, using the table to balance itself._

" _What is this?" the android asked, as he looked around in confusion, "Where am I?"_

" _Calm down, my boy," Pietro said, as he put a hand on the android's shoulder. The android seemed to panic at that, as it grabbed Pietro's hand, who grunted in pain at the tight grip._

" _Calm down, Pietro repeated, holding up his free hand, "Everything is fine." For a moment the android was silent, before it slowly released its grip. It then tentatively stepped back, as it looked over its body. It slowly ran its hand over its arms, as it studied itself for the first time._

" _What am I?" it asked._

" _Your name is Talos," Pietro said, "Welcome to Remnant."_

 _(/)_

" _Talos!" Pietro called as he entered the room. Said android looked up from the book he was reading at the sound of his father._

" _Father!" he said excitedly as he leapt to his feet, and came over to him._

" _I brought you some more books," Pietro said, holding out another few books for Talos. Even though he didn't have any real expressions, one could swear his face lit up at the sight of these new books._

" _Sensational!" he declared, as he took the books, eager to start reading them. As he returned to his spot on the floor in the back, sitting crosslegged, as he started reading them. Glad to see his son enjoying himself like that, Pietro turned his attention to other things, eager for a relaxing day. However, it was not to be, as there was soon a knock on the door. Not expecting anyone, Pietro made his way over to the door, and opened it to see one of the last people he wanted to see._

" _Dr. Polendina."_

" _General Marigold," Pietro greeted._

" _Please, it's Fae for someone like you," the general said as she passed by the doctor, followed by her small group of guards, who frowned once her back was to him. General Fae Marigold was a tall woman with a bob of blue hair and gold eyes. She was wearing the standard Atlesian officer's uniform, though she had a shoulder pad over her right shoulder. She sat on the Atlesian High Council, and was a colleague (thought not a friend) of Pietro's benefactor, General Ironwood._

" _I see your passion project was a success," Fae said, as she looked at Talos, rubbing her chin slightly, "It appears to be an exceptional creation."_

" _It?" Pietro asked, his frown deepening._

" _Tell me, what differentiates it from the other mechs?" Fae asked._

" _What differentiates_ him _from the rest of the mechs is he's got a fully functioning, artificial brain," Pietro explained, "He is capable of complex thought and emotion."_

" _Fascinating," Fae said, folding her arms, "Bring it over here, I'd like to have a closer look." Pietro would've suggested going over to Talos, but doubted the general would be willing to do so._

" _Talos!" he called, "Why don't you come and introduce yourself to General Marigold?" Talos quickly obeyed his father, and came over to the humans._

" _Salutations!" he greeted, "My name is Talos, it is a pleasure to meet you!" Fae more or less ignored him, as she circled the android, studying him._

" _Fascinating," she murmured, directed at Pietro, "How athletic is it?"_

" _I can lift an excess of thirty tons," Talos answered eagerly, apparently not bothered by the general's attitude, "And I can run approximately 40 miles per hour at maximum."_

" _Fascinating," Fae muttered, though it was directed at Pietro._

" _Talos," Pietro said, moving forward, "Why don't you go back to your books?" Always eager to read, Talos did exactly that, as he hurried back to his books._

" _It is quite eloquent for a machine," Fae noted. Pietro glared at her, and sighed, taking off his glasses to massage the bridge of his nose._

" _When building his brain, I downloaded language skills directly into his memory," he explained._

" _You can download knowledge directly into his brain?" Fae said, her eyes lighting up at the thought, "So perhaps you could download fighting styles, strategies…"_

" _Fae," Pietro interrupted, holding up his hand "You don't understand. I can download information into his brain, but I can't make him understand it. If you download an entire book's worth of military practice into his brain, he wouldn't know what to do with it."_

" _Well then," Fae said, "I'm not inclined to use a word like 'teach' for a weapon, but I suppose we'll have to."_ That _actually made Pietro mad, as he clenched his fists._

" _Look at him!" he said, gesturing to his son, "He's a child, not a weapon!" To punctuate his point, Talos had gotten distracted from reading, and was now fiddling curiously with a model Bullhead. However, Fae just eyed him the way someone might eye a new car, before shrugging, before looking_

" _You know I could just confiscate it," she then said cooly, saying more than she had said throughout the whole conversation as a chill went down Pietro's spine. She let those words sit, as she took her leave with her men. Pietro wanted to protest more, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out. Sighing sadly, as he rubbed his forehead, he looked at Talos, who continued to play with the model._

 _(/)_

 _Talos looked around in wonder at the facility surrounding him. He was in what could potentially be described as an operation room for machines, lying on a table while being surrounded by scientists, and pieces of machinery. Pietro was beside Talos, who looked up at him._

" _Father…," he said. He sounded scared._

" _Don't worry, son," Pietro said, putting a hand on Talos' shoulder, "It won't hurt."_

" _Please clear the area Dr. Polendina," another scientist said, shooing away Pietro. Taking a breath, the roboticist turned his chair, and shuffled out of the room. He briefly glanced over his shoulder, to see Talos watching him as he did._

 _The whole process took a few hours, every single one Pietro spent brooding about what was going on. Also in the room was General Marigold, and General Ironwood._

" _You know," Ironwood said, as he approached Pietro, "If it's worth anything…"_

" _Please, James," Pietro said, holding up his hand, "I don't think there's anything you can say that'll make me feel better." Ironwood looked like he wanted to say more, but decided to respect his colleague's wishes, and stepped back. Shortly after, the doors opened, and Pietro immediately looked up for the news. However, the scientists walked right past him, and up to General Marigold._

" _The modifications went very smoothly," the lead said, "It's upgrades are complete."_

" _Wonderful," Fae said with a smug grin._

" _Where's Talos?" Pietro demanded._

" _Father?" Pietro whirled around as a towering figure emerged from the door. It was covered in armor that had green lines going through it, including a face plate with two large lens. The figure stopped in front of Pietro, as a second pair of arms emerged from its back, and it looked at them._

" _Talos," Pietro muttered, before looking at the scientists, "What've you done to him?" Fae's grin just widened._

" _AGA-1 is combat ready now," she declared._

 _(/)_

 _Talos ducked under a strike from a Beowolf, before striking off it's head with a single strike from one his blades. A Sabyr then pounced at him, only for Talos to impale it on his other blade, and throw it into another Sabyr. Right then, another Beowolf jumped at him from behind, only for Talos to activate his secondary arms, and bisect it. After that, he activated his Dust mechanism, and swung his Fire-enhanced blade, creating an arc of fire incinerating the rest of the Grimm, destroy what remained of them._

 _With the "show" done, the military observers applauded at the sight from the safety of the large transport. Pietro just dragged his hand across his face in disapproval._

" _Fascinating," one officer commented to him, "AGA-1 it's far better than the other drones you've made." "AGA" stood for "Artificial Grimm Attacker"._

" _Talos isn't a drone," Pietro muttered._

" _Well, he's a robot," the officer said, "Same thing, more or less." No, it wasn't the same thing, but Pietro doubted he wanted to hear that. Despite Ironwood's recommendation, and Pietro's insistence that he needed to be taught rather than programmed, Fae decided to immediately bring Talos out for a field test. To that end, Fae had numerous fighting styles and tactics downloaded directly into his brain._

" _I think he's ready for active duty," Fae declared firmly._

" _He's not ready," Pietro responded, "You're teaching him violence without context."_

" _I downloaded an entire four years of knowledge into his brain. I'd say he's throughly taught."_

" _He knows, he doesn't understand," Pietro said, as he moved his chair forward, "If you don't see to it that he understands the value of what he does, rather than he just needs to do it, he will not understand the gravity of it." Fae stared down at the doctor, as her eyes narrowed._

" _Well, too bad it's not your decision anymore," the general said_

" _I'm his father!" Pietro said._

" _That thing's not a child!" Fae said, pointing at the screen, "It's a collection of nuts, bolts, and wires, here to ensure the security of the State of Atlas." With that, she pushed past the doctor, who sighed sadly, as he looked at the screen to see Talos studying his body, like he didn't even recognize it._

 _(/)_

 _Talos held back a Sabyr with his upper hands, before using his lower arms to strike down the Grimm. He then held up his hands, and used his energy blast to destroy another Grimm coming at him. The Grimm had made an incursion into Mantle, and he had been called down to deal with them, and he was now fighting alongside the other soldiers, and the Knights._

 _While he didn't "enjoy" what he was doing per se, he wasn't going to protest the orders given to him by the general. It was why they had programmed him with these thoughts; according to the general, that was why he was built. As he blasted apart a Teryx that descended down him, Talos scanned the area. It was then that he noticed what looked like a bus, filled with civilians and surrounded by Grimm._

 _As he saw that, he made a calculation in his brain. General Marigold had told him his purpose is to protect the citizens of Atlas from threats, and that his priority was to protect the majority over the minority. That was how she had downloaded the knowledge into Talos' mind. There were more citizens in the city than there were in that bus, and that bus' fuel canister was flammable, and if ignited, would destroy multiple Grimm at once. With that in mind, Talos held up his hand, and fired._

 _The moment the attack struck, the entire bus, and all the Grimm around it, went up in a massive fireball. With the job done, Talos nodded; he then looked towards the other soldiers._

" _We have to keep fighting," he said, "We're almost finished." However, when he looked, the soldiers were staring at him with abject horror._

" _What is it?" he asked. The soldiers took several steps back in fear. Talos was confused; he had done what he was told by the general, what he was made for._

" _What… what did I do?" he asked, looking around at the people staring at him, as he heard the sounds of more Grimm thundering in their direction._

 _(/)_

 _Talos was sitting in a chair in his father's workshop while his father talked with General Marigold. His father had made him promise he wouldn't listen in, and he wasn't going to break a promise to his father. Soon enough, the inventor entered into the room, an angry, defeated look on his face._

" _What's wrong?" Talos asked, cocking his head._

" _But… I did what I was told to," Talos said, "I did what General Marigold told me to do."_

" _I warned her, I tried to warn her," Pietro just muttered, as he shook his head._

" _Father?" Talos asked._

" _Talos," Pietro said softly, as he gave him a sad smile, "Why don't you read one of your books?" His son was confused by that by that instruction, but didn't question it, as he went go get a book. As he sat down to start reading, Pietro came up behind him, blinking slightly. He then opened a panel on the back of Talos head._

" _Father, when will…." The android couldn't finish, as he suddenly slumped over, deactivated. In short order, he was disassembled, and Pietro was putting his pieces on the shelves of one of his cabinets._

" _I'm sorry, son," Pietro said softly, as he closed the shelf, locking Talos in the dark._

 _(/)_

Talos stood over the remains of the defeated Atlesian soldiers.

"No less pathetic," he hissed. He then looked towards the truck that the convoy had been protecting. _That_ was what he wanted. He then held up his lower set of arms, which disconnected themselves, and fell to the ground. As he advanced on the truck, he reached up, and stripped the armor off his chest. Letting it fall to the snow, he then removed the armor on his arms…

 _(/)_

 _Penny hummed to herself as she cleaned her father's shop. Nobody had told her to, but she had recently read about "favors" for people; so she decided to do her father a "favor", because it was a nice thing to do. This included arranging his cabinets, which she was currently working on now. However, as she was cleaning the shelves, she opened one shelf, and saw something she certainly wasn't expecting: a head._

" _What is this?" she asked herself, as she picked up the head. It looked a bit like the head of a Knight, but it looked more advanced and intricate. Cocking her head curiously, she looked at the rest of the pieces that were in the shelf. It included a torso, four arms, and some legs; looking at all this, Penny was able to deduce this was an android, like herself. Setting the head on the table, she then took out all the other pieces. Allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, she gave the pieces all a quick scan, she quickly deduced how to but this android back together, and soon enough, it was all in one piece again._

" _Fascinating," Penny sad, as she looked down at the assembled android. She then looked at it's head, and an open panel, with a disconnected node once again, her curiosity got the better of her, and she plugged the node back in. The reawakened Talos lashed out, causing Penny to step back, as he rolled off the table, landing on his face. He shakily stood back up, as he looked up._

" _Where am I?" he asked, before he looked at Penny, "Who are you?"_

" _Salutations!" Penny said after a moment, giving a big smile "My name is Penny, it is a pleasure to meet you."_

" _Where… where is Father?" Talos asked, looking around._

" _Father? Well, my father, Dr. Polendina…"_

" _Dr. Polendina?" Talos asked._

" _Affirmative," Penny answered with a nod._

" _But… he's my father," Talos said, pointing to himself._

" _He is?" Penny asked, blinking in surprise, "I did not know that. Well then, since we have the same father, I guess that makes me your sister!"_

" _Sister?" Talos asked._

" _Why were you disassembled?" Penny asked._

" _I…," Talos said slowly, looking at his four arms, "I don't know why." Penny was silent, as she looked at her newly discovered brother. That was when she got an idea._

" _Father will not be back for a couple more days," Penny said, "Perhaps we can do things together, as I heard brothers and sisters do." It was then that she gave him the biggest, most sincere smile the android had ever seen in his otherwise brief existence. He wasn't sure what it was about that smile, but it made Talos trust her._

" _Well… why not?" he asked._

 _(/)_

 _For the next three days, Penny and Talos would meet each other in private, and do various…. things together. Nothing in particular, just whatever they felt like doing at the time. One day, Talos read to Penny, one day she read to him, one day they went into the tundra and played tag together. This night, though, they were just sitting on the roofs of Mantle, staring up at Atlas._

" _It is amazing, is it not?" Penny said, looking at Talos, "What the humans can do."_

" _Hmm," Talos just grunted. Penny then looked back up at the city._

" _I wish I was a real girl," she said softly. Talos looked at her, before after a moment, he put a hand over his sister's._

" _You're fine the way you are," he said, "You don't need to be an organic." Penny was surprised by the way he described the humans, but she didn't think much of it like that._

" _But humans can do so much," she said, looking up at the city, "They built this kind of city."_

" _Organics made us to to be weapons," Talos said, "But when I tried to do what General Marigold programmed me to do, our father deactivated me, and took me apart."_

" _I am sure he didn't mean to," Penny said, "He was just doing what he was ordered. I am sure he didn't mean to hurt you. He was just doing what he thought was right." At that, she hiccuped. Talos looked at her; she didn't have the organic components to produce hiccups naturally. That only meant one logical conclusion._

" _They built a mechanism into you to show when you're lying," Talos noted, "They don't trust you."_

" _Yes they do!" She hiccuped again. Talos grunted, before looking back at the city. Penny looked down, before she got an idea, and smiled._

" _Father is coming back tomorrow," she said, "I am sure he will understand if we explain." Talos looked at her for a time, not sure how to answer. Then, to the taller android's surprise, Penny then hugged him. It was a rather awkward hug, but a hug nonetheless._

" _I promise, I will help you," she said. She didn't hiccup then, rather she had that same, wonderful smile. He then put one arm on Penny's arm, and just softly nodded._

 _(/)_

 _The time for Pietro's arrival eventually came, and Talos and Penny were now standing together in Pietro's workshop. Talos wasn't sure why, but he was scared. Penny took his hand, and smiled at him. If he had a mouth, he would've smiled as well, that was when the door opened, as Pietro returned._

" _I won't let you make the same mistake twice," the doctor said, speaking to a person behind him._

" _AGA-2 is doing well." Unfortunately, Fae Marigold was with him. They suddenly all stopped speaking, as they stood and saw the androids standing before them._

" _Talos?" Pietro said slowly. Fae stared in horror at the sight of the machine she thought she was rid of._

" _Father…," Talos said after a moment, as he started to move forward._

" _What is this, Polendina?!" the general said, pointing at Talos, "You told me you took it apart!" The guards quickly came up to Talos, their weapons trained on him._

" _I…"_

" _I found him, and put him back together," Penny announced, to the surprise of the organics._

" _Penny," Pietro said softly._

" _By the Brothers," Fae said, rubbing her forehead, "You told me AGA-2 was compliant. You know there's a reason I had you program it to be unable to lie." Talos could take being called an "it", but hearing his little sister get called that. His fists slowly clenched._

" _General Marigold," Pietro said, "I think we can deal with this peacefully. Perhaps…"_

" _Don't worry about it, I'm sure AGA-3 will be a success," Fae said, "Third time's the charm, anyway." She then check her watch briefly._

" _I'll expect plans for AGA-3 by the end of the week. I'll send men down here to have AGA-2 disassembled." That was it for Talos, and with that, he blew through all the guards, as his boosters kicked in and he thrust forward to Fae. Before the general could even realize what was happening, Talos was holding her by the throat, hoisting her off the ground._

" _Talos, no!" Pietro said, as he moved his chair over towards him._

" _Stay away!" Talos snapped., looking a tthis father._

" _It isn't worth it!" Pietro said, "What happened to you was my fault!"_

" _She turned me into a weapon, into something to kill!" Talos said, tightening his hold on Fae's throat, "Give me one reason not to do this!"_

" _Son, if you do this…," Pietro said, as he moved closer, "There will be no going back."_

" _I don't care," Talos said, as he looked at her, and he extended one of his blades. Fae tried to say something, but only croaked._

" _Big brother!" Penny called. That actually got said older brother to look up, and at the little sister._

" _Don't do this," she begged, "Please."_

" _You're not a monster," Pietro said, "I didn't make a monster." Upon hearing that Talos gave pause, as he lowered his blade slightly._

" _You're not just a killer," Penny said, "You're not just a weapon." That was when she hiccuped. Talos looked straight at her, as he made his decision._

" _You didn't make a monster," he said, but then he looked at Fae, "But she did." With that, he thrust his blade forward; the general could only grunt, as she was impaled on his weapon._

" _No!" Pietro muttered, as he tried t move over, only for Talos to kick his chair down, sending him spilling over the floor._

" _Father!" Penny said, hurrying over to him._

" _Goodbye Penny," Talos said, and with that, he activated his thrusters, and burst through the floor, leaving his family behind._

 _(/)_

Talos ripped the last piece of armor off his body, his inner skeleton now exposed, the same way as he was created, as he entered into the vehicle. The truck cargo was empty, save for a glass container in the back. The container was filled with what looked like a swirling bronze liquid. But Talos knew what they were: nanites.

He slowly approached them, as he looked down, as if pondering whether or not he wanted this. But that pondering didn't seem to last long, as he held up his fist, and smashed the glass in. The nanites then immediately latched onto him, and proceeded to slowly start covering his body. The android stumbled back, as he landed on the floor. He wasn't supposed to be capable of feeling pain, but somehow, this process was agonizing.

 _(/)_

 _Talos pulled his weapon out of the body of the Atlesian Specialist, using some of his clothing to wipe the blood._

" _Persistent," he hissed, "I'll give them that."_

" _It is in their job description." Talos looked up to see a man approaching him through the snow. He was tall, as tall as Talos himself._

" _Who are you?" Talos demanded._

" _My name is Hazel Rainhart," the man said, "I have a proposition for you."_

 _(/)_

The nanites completely covered Talos' body now. Once they did, then began to shuffle around themselves, forming what resembled light brown skin, short bronze-colored hair, as well as ears, nose, and a mouth.

He then slowly managed to pull himself back to his feet, and for the first time in his existence, Talos smiled…

 **Note: I said I'd do character shorts for the OC villains, and here you go. I was originally going to do one for each character but then I figured that Talos was the only one who had enough development and character of the four to really earn this kind of short. As we see more of the others, I'll do more for them. At any ate, this trend out WAY longer than anticipated, but I felt it was important to go the full way.**

 **Be sure to review. I'm not expecting a lot of reviews to this, but hopefully some people enjoyed it. Thanks to those are sticking with me in light of the previous chapters revelation. Thanks for still having faith in me.**

 **I've recently got an inexplicable drive to do a fanfic about Circuit Breaker (for those who don't know, that's the Jaune x Penny ship); I know it has no basis in canon, but again, it's inexplicable. I've been brainstorming my head off, but not much luck. Keep your eyes open though. Also, in my opinion, Penny's is the best smile in a series filled with amazing smiles.**


	84. Welcome to Atlas

_**Welcome to Atlas**_

Flying over the Northern Oceans was an Atlesian Bullhead. It was fairly normal as Bullheads went, until a blonde boy was suddenly pitched out of the door with a still rather girlish scream.

"Jaune!" Ruby and Weiss both cried as they ran over to the open door, as Pyrrha had to actively hold Yang back.

"IF HE COMES BACK, I'M GONNA RIP HIS GUTS OUT THROUGH HIS…."

"Yang!" Pyrrha scolded, as she held onto her partner. Fortunately, Jaune was able to assume this dragon form, and flutter back up to the Bullhead.

"You knocked up my little sister?!" Yang shouted at Jaune.

"No, I didn't!" Jaune insisted, holding up his hands, "None of us have even done anymore than kiss and cuddle!"

"Please don't hurt him, Yang!" Ruby pleaded.

"I promise you, we have not done anything so intimate yet," Weiss said.

"Then how could you be expecting?" Blake asked.

"I don't know," Weiss answered, "but I can promise you, I'd remember such a thing."

"I don't care!" Yang said, "I swear to…" She couldn't finish, as she was pinned against the wall of the airship by Shade's telekinesis.

"Hey!" Yang said, "What're…" She again couldn't finish as Shade closed her mouth for her.

"Can you breath through your nose?" he asked, and after Yang nodded, he continued, "Then allow me to interject."

"Can you tell us what the hell is going on here?" Qrow shouted, not at all pleased to find his younger niece suddenly pregnant.

"'Pregnant' might not be the right word, if I am being completely truthful," Shade said, "I am not necessarily sensing a child growing in either of them."

"Well, that clears everything up!" Nora said, throwing up her arms.

"So what is it then?" Qrow demanded.

"It is more like I sense a new life within them. And I may just have a theory about this as well."

"Biology may conceive a child physically, but life is breathed into them when their Aura is formed from the Auras of their parents coming together," the doctor explained, "It is not at all impossible that when the three of them fused together, Jaune's Aura mingled with those of Ruby and Weiss, creating new Auras. Those new Auras are now within them, growing." Weiss and Ruby both put their hands on their stomachs, and looked at each other, then at Jaune.

"I'm… I'm going to be a dad?" Jaune asked. Being a father had been a long time dream of his; to be able to have a family of his own, to be able to have a legacy of his own, and children to carry on that legacy. Similarly, both Weiss and Ruby dreamt of being mothers; Weiss in particularly looked forward to being able to raise her children right, to give them the love and attention her own parents never could show. But none of them thought they would find that dream fulfilled by some sort of pseudo-mating as dragons.

"The exact nature of what is happening is somewhat…. unprecedented," Shade said, "Even I cannot say for certain what will happen with these young ones."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"I will take this matter under consideration," Shade said, "There may be something I can do to assist. But for now…" He then levitated off the ground, sitting cross-legged in midair as Yang dropped to the ground. Ruby, probably wisely, positioned herself in between her sister and her boyfriend.

"I would recommend you all rest," he said, "A great challenge awaits you in this kingdom in the North."

"What does that mean?" Ilia asked.

"There is still much you do not yet know," Shade said, "Things I myself did not know for certain until recently."

"Like what?" Weiss asked, knowing that kind of information was never good.

"I will tell you when we arrive, but know this, I sense something in the wind," Shade said, as his eyes closed, "Something awaits us there, in Atlas. Of what exactly, I am unsure. Irregardless, be ready." If there was one thing the group had learned in their time with him, is that when the avatar of the God of Darkness told them to rest, they needed to rest.

 **(sometime later)**

It had taken a couple more hours to get to Atlas, most of it was spent with Jaune mulling over becoming an 18 year old dad because of him literally merging with his two girlfriends into a three headed dragon. Now _there_ was a thought no one with a decent life should be pondering. He tried to offer both Ruby and Weiss some comfort, but when he went over to sit with them, while they would normally curl up next to him, they would actually sit away from him, averting their eyes. He knew it shouldn't have bothered him, especially with the recent revelation. But it still didn't feel good to have his girlfriends sitting away from it like this.

Despite everything, though, they eventually did make it to Atlas. Of the thirteen people present (counting Oz), five had actually spent time in Atlas. That meant they were somewhat used to the sight of the massive, floating island the city sat atop of. The others were all staring in awe at the massive marvel of a city.

"Aren't you going to look at it?" Weiss asked.

"It does not interest me," Shade answered plainly.

"Really?" Ruby asked, "I mean, it's a floating city."

"I made this entire planet with my own two claws," Shade said, not opening his eyes, "I was there when the first human came into existence. I watched the mountains of this world rise and fall. I…."

"Okay," Weiss interjected, "You made your point." Shade chuckled at that slightly.

"What I can tell you, though," he said, as he finally opened his eyes, "Is that that rock is suspended in the air through the power of the Relic of Creation."

"It is?" Weiss asked, surprised by that. She was always told it was due to the gravity Dust.

"It is," Oz confirmed, "After the Great War, Atlas was to be a fortress, a bastion against Salem. Of course, we couldn't have foreseen things proceeding they way they are now."

"That's a way of putting it," Jaune said, as he and the other's kept staring at the sight. Ilia, however, was more focused on the massive crater that lay in the center. She briefly turned red, then blue, before moving away towards the back of the airship which didn't go unnoticed by Blake. She went over to console her, but Shade beat her to the proverbial punch.

"What troubles you, little one?" he inquired.

"I… I never thought I'd come back here," Ilia muttered sadly, "Last time I was here…" She trailed off, as she turned a light blue. Shade looked at her time, before he waved his hand slightly, gently turning Ilia to face him.

"You cannot change the past," he said, "But you can affect the future. You have a chance to do good in this land, for everyone. Will you take it?" Ilia was silent, as she looked at the ground, and for once, Shade didn't press for an answer, as he floated to the floor.

"Look ahead!" Ren said, pointing out the window. Everyone followed his finger, as they saw what he was referring to. Looming in the air was the entire Atlesian air fleet, over a dozen airships floating in the sky, as if they were expecting an invasion.

"Something tells me this is gonna be a problem," Nora said, stating the obvious.

"That's probably an understatement," Weiss said nervously, "I've never seen the fleet postured so aggressively. If we try and land a stolen ship in the airfield, at best they'll lock us up. At worst… they might take me to my father." The implied threat of that sent a chill through the Bullhead. Nora put a hand on her partner's shoulder, and Jaune tried to take Weiss' hand, but she retracted from him slightly, to his surprise.

The ship floated into Mantle, which was a comparatively…. uglier city than. It was darker, and more rundown, with a numerous screens that showed the face of one General James Ironwood. He was making some grandiose speech about the importance of obeying the word of the military, and listening to authority. The sight was not pleasing to either Qrow or Oz.

"Oh James," Oz said softly, shaking his head slightly. He knew the general needed his advice now more than ever.

"Does anyone have any plan?" Maria inquired, "Something tells me we're on the clock here." Nobody had much in the way of any real ideas, as they instinctively looked to Shade.

"I am afraid I cannot give you the solution you want. There is a matter I must attend to, and some questions I need answers to," Shade said, before he shifted into his divine form **, "I will return shortly. Be on guard, this place is not one you should dwell in."**

"Any ideas on what to do?" Ruby asked.

" **You are all intelligent individuals,"** Darkness answered **, "I am sure you will figure out a solution."** Leaving it at that, he faded away. The group stared at the empty space he once was, before Jaune laughed slightly.

"Oh, I missed that," he muttered.

 **(in the streets of Mantle)**

Eventually, the group managed to find a secluded lot somewhere in downtown Mantle. They were now making their way down the streets to find one of Maria's friends who worked in Mantle. It was a bit of a walk, one which Ilia spent constantly shifting colors, and keeping her head down. Blake tried to console her when she could, but the chameleon wasn't really in the mood to do so.

"This whole place," Ruby said, looking around, "It feels so…. beaten."

"Because it is," Oz said, "When conceiving Atlas, our hope was it would be something Mantle could look up to for hope, and protection. Instead, it became Atlas' footstool."

"This whole city, it's just….," Blake trailed off. There wasn't a word she could think of that was apt enough to describe what was happening.

"Here we are," Maria suddenly said, gesturing to a small shop not far ahead of them that had a glowing green plus symbol above its door. As they approached the door a young Faunus woman exited with a prosthetic arm.

"Thanks again!" she said, waving the prosthetic.

"No more heavy lifting," an elderly voice called. As the group entered, they were greeted by an elderly man with dark skin, and bling white hair and a white beard. He had a green cap and oval-glasses, with a pink bow tie.

"Ah, Pietro Polendina," Maria greeted with a smile, "Good to see you again."

"Forgive me, but have we met?" Pietro answered, not really looking up from his scattered papers.

"Maria Calavera," Maria answered, tapping her prosthetics, "The one who lost her eyes in the line of duty." At that, Pietro actually looked up, to see Maria.

"Ah, Maria!" he greeted, as he came around the desk, revealing himself to be in a walking chair, "Wonderful to see you again. Here for your tune up, I imagine?"

"Indeed I am," Maria answered, before turning to the group, "Allow me to introduce Pietro Polendina, possibly the greatest mind in the State of Atlas."

"You can call me Pietro," the doctor answered, as he smiled at the group, "Teams RYPJ and BRWN, I presume."

"You know us?" Ruby asked.

"Of course, my daughter could barely stop talking about you once she go home," Pietro explained.

"Your daughter?" Pyrrha asked, cocking her head.

"Indeed, a wonderful young girl," Pietro answered, "She'll be happy to see you." Oz was about to ask about the state of the city.

"Oh great," Jaune grumbled, "Never fails."

"Let's go!" Ruby declared.

"Wait!" Pietro tried to say, "That won't be…" However, the group was already gone by then. When they got outside, they saw numerous Sabyrs charging down the streets. Mechs were trying to shoot them down, but without much luck.

"Let's fry them!" Nora declared, as she charged up her Aura to use her magic.

"Wait!" Ren said, grabbing her shoulder, "We shouldn't go changing in the open like this!"

"Ren's right," Jaune said, "We have to use our powers conservatively here."

"So what do we do then?" Nora asked.

"We fight the old fashioned way," Yang said, as she held her gauntlets at the ready.

"I'm good with that too," Nora said, as she readied Magnhild. With that, the group got ready to fight. But before they could, numerous green beams descended from the sky, incinerating numerous Sabyrs almost instantaneously.

"What the…," a few people said at once.

"Where'd that come from?" Blake asked.

"I told you," Pietro said, "You don't need do anything right now." Before anyone could ask them, their gaze was drawn to the sky. They then looked up to see a green form dancing through the sky, before slowly descending to the ground. Everyone gasped at the sight of who it was. It was a face that no one, especially Pyrrha, ever thought they'd see again.

The girl was of average height, with long orange hair that was rounded at the tips. She had big green eyes, and freckles, with a black bow behind her head, and was wearing a green dress with a silver blouse. Around her neck was a choker that had what almost looked like a power button. It took the group a moment to recognize her, but once they did it, there was no mistaking who it was, seeing as last time they saw her, she had been a smoking skeleton.

"Penny," Ruby and Pyrrha murmured together. While she looked somewhat different, no one could question who that was.

"Darling," Pietro said with a smile, "Why don't you say hello to your friends?" The android glanced over in their direction, before her face lit up like the sun. Ruby just slowly smiled at the sight of her lost friend standing before her, while Pyrrha's eyes widened at the sight of the girl she "killed".

"Sal…," Penny said, as she braced herself. Ruby blinked at that, not liking where this was going.

"…u…"

"Uh oh," Ruby muttered in realization.

"…ations!" With that, Penny literally rocketed forward towards Ruby (creating a sonic boom) as she did so. Ruby cried out as she held up her arms in a vain attempt to defend herself as Penny tackle hugged her. The rest of the group gathered around together as Penny let Ruby go.

"It is such a pleasure to see you all again!" Penny declared happily.

"Penny," Ruby said softly, "I thought you were…"

"Dead?" Pietro interjected as he came up, "I suppose in a manner of speaking she was. But her core was intact, and we were remake her."

"And now I'm as good as new! Penny declared as she looked over the group. That was when she and Pyrrha made eye contact. Pyrrha immediately put her eyes on the ground. The last time she and Penny engaged, Pyrrha nearly turned her into a puddle of molten slag. Pyrrha wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to….

"Hello, friend Pyrrha!" Penny suddenly said happily, giving another one of her massive smiles, "It is wonderful to see you again as well!" _That_ Pyrrha hd not been expecting from the girl she nearly killed.

"But I…," Pyrrha said slowly, "I…"

"Oh it was nothing," Penny said, waving her hand, "I am sure it was just an accident!" Pyrrha was surprised, but supremely thankful to hear that Penny held no grudge against her. Most people wouldn't be so kind. But then Pyrrha's memory went back to Talos, Penny's brother, and her brow furrowed somewhat.

"What is wrong?" Penny asked, cocking her head slightly.

"I… I'll tell you later," Pyrrha said.

"Well, I cannot wait to hear it!" Penny declared, as she grabbed Pyrrha's shoulder, only for the alarm to sound again, "I have to wait for it!" With that, she rocketed into the air.

"IAMSOHAPPYTOSEEALLYOUAGAIN!" she sputtered out as she zoomed into the sky, "ICANNOTWAITTOHEARALLABOUTYOURADVENTURES!"

"That was… strangely heartwarming," Blake commented.

"That sounds like Penny to me," Jaune said. Though he couldn't help but think back to what Darkness said about her, and the disdain he seemed to have. He had to wonder if he would still feel like that even after all the time has passed.

"Now that we're all done here," Maria said, "Perhaps we can get to business."

"Alright," Oz said, "Now what we need is…" He couldn't finish, as suddenly several bolases seemed to descend out of nowhere, and ensnare just about everyone except for Maria and Pietro. As Ruby fell, the Relic of Knowledge got unhooked, and tumbled to the ground. From the shadows descended five individuals in Atlesian military uniforms.

"Well, that was easy," a guy with short brown hair and a sleeveless uniform, as he grinned, "Good work team."

"What in the Brothers' names is going on here?" Pietro demanded as he came back over.

"Official Ace-Ops business," a tall, muscular woman with a hammer named Elm Ederne commented, waving her hand slightly, "Move along." While neither seniors were happy to do so, they weren't in a position to try and stop them.

"Come on," a man with pale skin and a shaved head named Vine Zeki said, "Let's get them on the ship." However, when they tried to do so, they noticed that none of the group looked that concerned. If anything, they all looked rather jaded by what was going on.

"What's with you?" a short girl with spiky hair named Harriet Bree asked, glaring at them, "You do realize what's happening, right?"

"Look," Jaune said, as he looked up at them, "You really don't want do this."

"We don't?" a Faunus named Marrow Amin said, "What're you talking about?"

"You just don't," Jaune said.

"We're just here to talk to General Ironwood," Weiss said, "Contact Major Schnee."

"I'm sure," Clover Ebi, the leader of the Ace-Ops said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Come on, we have a job to do." Before his subordinates could agree on that, they were all suddenly sent tumbling away, a couple of them slamming into the building.

"What the hell?" Elm said, as she looked around. That was when their attention was seized by a tall figure in a dark suit approaching them with his arms clasped behind his back.

"Oh, ho, ho," Nora laughed, as a pair of black shoes walked by her, "You guys are _so_ in for it now." The Ace Operatives all got up, and got ready to fight, as the figure approached them.

"Who the hell are you?" Harriet demanded.

"I do not approve of what you are doing to my students," Shade said, as he held up one hand.

 **(on the outskirts of Mantle)**

Red mist slithered up and across the walls surrounding the city, and around a communications tower. The mist then solidified into the figure of the High Spirit of Order, Thoth.

" _Atlas,"_ the Lord of the Spirits muttered to himself, as he perched atop the tower, looking up at the floating island _, "Both the best and worst of the mortal races dwell in this city. A city with a tenuous order."_ He then grinned at it slightly.

" _Perhaps we can alleviate that,"_ Thoth muttered, with that he stepped off the tower, and turned back into mist.

 **Note: Working on this chapter wasn't easy to devise, since there was a lot I wanted to get done, it was a matter of deciding what to and not to include. My policy with adapting scenes from canon is to cut what I can if there isn't much I can add to; that's why numerous scenes from the episode are adapted out. At any rate, Vol. 7 is a volume I've been looking forward to doing for a while. I have a lot of ideas for advancing the story in my own direction this volume.**

 **Hopefully this chapter gives a little more context to the matter of the unexplained pregnancies. More will be revealed as the volume progresses.**

 **Be sure to review. Also, I just released a crossover fanfic called "Balancing the Multiverse"; the premise is that Thanos (MCU version) goes around various settings, to bring balance to all realities.**


	85. The Old General

_**The Old General**_

The five member team, apparently called the "Ace-Ops", stared down the bald Faunus in a black suit, who had seemingly just come out of nowhere.

"Where'd this guy come from?" Elm asked.

"Perhaps he's a friend of the other's here," Vine suggested.

"Look sir," Clover said, trying to solve this peacefully, "Please, this…"

"I do not care if this is 'official business'," Shade interjected coolly, "I will give you this once chance to leave, and stay out of our way."

"You're a cocky bastard," Harriet sneered, as she got ready to keep up the fight, as did the rest of the Ace-Ops.

"Yes, he is," Pyrrha said, smiling.

"But he's still gonna kick your asses with one hand tied behind his back," Yang said. The others just smiled, eager to watch the show.

"Well, we'll see about that," Clover said calmly, as he lashed out Kingfisher at Shade. However, to his surprise, it froze in midair in front of Shade. Before Clover could even ponder what this was, Shade flicked his wrist, and the Huntsman found himself tumbling back.

"Let it be said I warned you," Shade said as he brushed his suit off, putting his hands back behind his back as he advanced. Elm acted next, jumping forward to bring down Timber, only for to be suddenly caught in mid air, and unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Harriet then activated her Semblance, and zoomed over to Shade, ready to pound him in the ground with Fast Knuckles. Unfortunately for her, when she brought the fist down, it was caught by the doctor.

"What the hell are you?" she said slowly as she stared into his dark eyes. Shade didn't answer, instead, he responded by telekinetically throwing her. In short order, though, Shade himself was caught in the hands of Vine.

"Got you!" Vine hissed, "Now!" Shade calmly glanced up to see Marrow coming down at him with his saw/boomerang, Fetch.

"Just so you know, you started…" The dog couldn't finish, as Shade effortlessly broke free from Vine's grasp, creating a telekinetic shockwave that knocked both men away. Harriet then tried to attack again, as she activated her Semblance and started circling him. However, as she got ready to land her strike, she noticed something that shouldn't have been possible: Shade's eyes following her. He almost looked…. bored. Jerking his head slightly, Shade knocked Harriet to the ground, with her momentum carrying her all the way into another wall.

"Stay!" Marrow suddenly said, activating his Semblance, which could freeze people in their place, as he pointed at Shade. At first, it looked like they had got him, and the Ace-Ops let themselves take a breath.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Shade asked calmly, as he looked towards the Faunus.

"How…" Marrow didn't finish, as Shade then flicked his finger up, causing the dog to float up, before he flicked his finger back down, causing Marrow to face plant straight into the ground. Elm tried to follow up with another strike from Timber, while Vine came up with a hunk of rubble in each hand. As they brought them down, Shade held up both hands, freezing them in the air, before putting his hands together, causing the two to slam into each other. Dusting his hands off, Shade then looked over the utterly defeated Ace-Ops, as Pietro and Maria stared.

"Those… those were the Ace Operatives," Pietro said shakily, "They're the greatest hunters in Atlas."

"I do not doubt that," Shade said, as he glanced at Pietro briefly, before flicked his wrist, undoing the binds in the teens. It was then that he noticed a hook on a line coming his way, which he easily dodged. Glancing over, he saw Clover making his way over.

"Who are you?" he demanded, panting slightly.

"My name is Dr. Shade," the doctor answered, "I am the teacher to the group you rather unceremoniously bound. Now…" He then held up his hand to deal with Clover as well, as Clover took a battle stance, though he knew it probably wouldn't do any good.

"Wait!" Ruby said, as she got in front of her teacher, "Stop, just for a second!" Shade arched an eyebrow, but didn't protest, as Ruby and Jaune went over to the rest of the Ace-Ops.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked Vine. That certainly wasn't what Vine had been expecting to hear, as he looked up at the young man he had just been trying to arrest. To his further surprise, Jaune activated his Semblance, enhancing Vine's healing, while Ruby tried to help Harriet up.

"What're you guys doing?" Harriet all but demanded.

"All we want is to talk," Blake said as she stepped up with the others, "We don't mean anyone any harm."

"That guy in the suit just curbstopmed us, and you're telling us you don't mean any harm?" Marrow asked, as he tried to pull himself to his feet.

"Well, you did try and attack us," Weiss said, "We tried to tell you." Clover considered everything that just happened. Shade just completely and utterly defeated all of them on his own. One way or another, this did deserve the general's attention. Perhaps there was a way they could resolve this with words before they continued with force (which they almost assuredly wouldn't win).

"So, what do you want then?" Clover asked.

"We just need to see General Ironwood," Oz said, as he stepped forward, "Please, just take us to him." The Ace-Ops exchanged looks at that.

"You know we do not actually need you to get to Atlas," Shade said plainly, as he held up his hand, apparently fully willing on continuing the duel. That made things pretty clear to the Aces.

"This isn't going to look good on our report," Elm grumbled.

 **(at Atlas Academy)**

It had been a quick ride by airship up to Atlas proper, and to the Academy/HQ. It was certainly more impressive than Beacon or Haven, almost to the point of being garish (at least in the opinion of Weiss, Blake, Ilia, and Shade). This time, the group wasn't shackled, which some of their escort guards didn't look too happy about, but when one of them raised the issue, Shade gave him a _very_ stern look. He didn't talk for the rest of the trip. Once they landed, they were lead into the Academy, and down the hall.

"So, what do we do when we meet him?" Oscar asked.

" _We tell him the truth,"_ Oz answered _, "James needs to hear it now more than ever."_ As they were walking, they came to outside Ironwood's office, just as the general was returning form whatever he was doing prior. And he wasn't alone; much to the contrary, one Major Winter Schnee was accompanying him.

"Winter!" Weiss said, moving to the front of the group. The elder Schnee's widened at the sight of her younger sister.

"Weiss," she said softly, "What're you…." She couldn't finish as Weiss suddenly leapt forward and embraced her tightly.

"I missed you so much," she said softly. Winter wasn't sure why she was surprised, but after a moment, she still returned the hug. Sure, this was a breach in protocol, but at this point, with her little sister in her arms, she didn't really care. And apparently, neither did Ironwood, who just smiled at the sight of the students.

"It's good to see you all again," he said, "Please, come in." As the group filed into the office, they were surprised by how Spartan it was. It just considered of some bookshelves, a desk, and that was about it.

"I hope you'll forgive me for sending the Ace-Ops to apprehend you," Ironwood said, "It's just, seeing an unregistered airship raised some red flags."

"Well, can't blame him for that," Jaune muttered.

"We came here so quick because we need to talk to you," Qrow said, stepping forward, "Things have changed, and they've changed a lot."

"Is it about the Relics?" Winter asked.

"Or Salem?" Penny chimed in. That much surprised the whole of the group, especially Oz. This was not light information, and he had generally tried to keep the circle who knew about small. People who did know, also generally got it from him, and directly from him.

"You… told them?" Oscar asked, sensing the questions Oz had.

"The Ace-Ops know as well," Ironwood answered, "With Oz gone, I needed my own circle of trust, and my options were… limited, to say he least." Qrow narrowed his eyes at the mention of that, before taking a breath.

"Well, we'll deal with all that later," he said.

"Well at any ate, you all seemed to have made very quick work of the Aces," Ironwood said, with a smile, "Color me impressed. That was no small feat." The group exchanged looks with each other.

"It… wasn't us," Ruby said.

"It was me," Shade said as he stepped forward, facing down Ironwood. The Atlesians all stared in surprise, all of them remembering Shade in some fashion. Most of them didn't have good ones at that.

"You," Ironwood said, his eyes narrowing.

"What are you doing here?" Winter hissed, advancing on him.

"Winter," Weiss said, getting in between her sister and her teacher, "It's okay, we trust him."

"You trust him?" Winter said, "How can you trust this man? He appeared out of nowhere, refuses to tell us about himself…"

"The issue is," Ironwood interjected, stepping forward, "In this day and age, we can't trust strangers with information like this. I'm sorry, Doctor, but we have nor eason to have faith in you, even if the children do." There was a period of silence, as all the group suddenly looked at Shade expectantly. Recognizing what this meant, Shade sighed slightly.

"You know," Shade said, "when I first came here, I did not think I would be revealing myself to this many people."

"Reveal yourself?" Penny asked, cocking her head curiously.

"They need to know," was all Jaune said. Shade looked at him for a time, before nodding slightly. He then held up his arms, and with a flash of dark aura, assumed his divine form.

It seemed to take Ironwood, Winter, and Penny a good couple seconds to fully process what was in front of them, and when they did, they had relatively similar reactions. Ironwood and Winter both stumbled back in shock (and a bit of horror), staring wide eyed, unable to believe what was in front of them. Penny on the other hand….

"Salutations!" she then said, as she was one to do when meeting any new person, saying it more in awe than in fear. The god looked up and down the android, but didn't say anything in return.

"What is he?" Winter all but demanded, as she grabbed at her swords. Darkness was silent, as he advanced on Winter, who could only stare at the being that was more than twice her height.

" **Look at me, little one,"** he said **, "And tell me."** Winter and Ironwood looked carefully at him, trying to figure out just what he was. But then, something, somewhere, in Ironwood's mind clicked.

"You're the God of Darkness," he said, remembering the old religion he was raised on. Darkness turned to the general and just nodded.

"Why… why are you here?" Winter asked.

" **A question that is neither relevant, nor your concern. Just know that these children are under my personal guidance and guardianship. The only thing that concerns me, right now, is their wellbeing."**

"And if we can't trust our creator," Jaune said, "Then who can we trust?" Ironwood was silent for a second, as he tried to consider all that was going on. All he found himself able to do was sigh, and drag a hand down his face.

"And that… actually isn't it," Qrow then added.

"Oh, what now?" Ironwood asked, sounding more crass and harsh than he should've.

"Turns out, Salem isn't the only problem." That would've been enough, but then they told them all about the Spirits, their origins, and how they still seemed to lurk across Remnant. The group took it all in, as Ironwood leaned back against his desk, rubbing his temples slightly. This new information was throwing his established plan of raising Amity Colosseum and revealing the truth about Salem pretty far off the tracks, but he didn't bring that up yet. It wouldn't have helped anything at this point.

"I miss the days when the biggest thing I had to worry about was Grimm hurting people," Ironwood said, "If Oz were here…"

"Who said he wasn't?" Ironwood froze, as he saw Oscar approach. His eyes widened as he put it all together.

"It's good to see you again, James," Oz said softly, smiling at his old friend.

"Oz?" Ironwood asked, as he fell to one knee to be on his level, "Is it really…" He stopped when wizard put a hand on his shoulder.

"We… have a lot to talk about," Oz said. Ironwood paused, before smiling, and nodding in understanding.

"So these… Spirits," Winter then said, "Do we know anything about them?"

"Only that they created the Faunus out of spite," Ilia said, her voice oozing with bitterness. Blake put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Well that is a start," Penny piped up, "Perhaps we can go from there and…"

" **Actually the situation is even more complex than that,"** Darkness suddenly interjected, getting everyone's attention. He then stepped forward, holding up his hand, as black flame appeared in it.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

" **You all know that I created what you call the Grimm, to be a counterbalance to the Spirits my brother created,"** Darkness explained **, "But before it all, much as my Brother created four High Spirits, I created something of my own."**

"I don't like where this is going," Ruby said, as she instinctively put her hand on her stomach.

" **You should not,"** Darkness answered grimly **, "The things I created, I suppose you could call, the four Arch-Grimm."**

"Arch-Grimm?" Winter asked. Darkness was quiet for a moment, before the one flame in his hand split into four. They then floated out to the center of the group, as they took ghoulish forms. One was a winged creature (that looked strangely familiar), another looked like a cloud of sorts, the third was a strange multi-limbed thing, and the fourth was something that looked vaguely humanoid

" **Four perfect forces of pure destruction, each representing a different aspect: Chaos, Desiccation, Discord, and Ruination,"** the god explained **, "If released, they alone could bring an entire kingdom to its knees."**

"How come we've never seen one before?" Ren asked.

" **You have, as a matter of fact,"** Darkness answered **, "The beast at Beacon, you called it the 'Wyvern'."**

"That was one of them?" Nora asked nervously.

" **Indeed, it was the Chaos."**

"How long did you know about these things?" Jaune asked.

" **When I saw the Chaos in Vale, I had suspected, but was not sure, but then, I found the Ruination in Mistral, and later the Desiccation in Vacuo. That, of course, leaves the Discord."**

"And it's here in Atlas," Penny finished for him. Darkness just nodded at that, as all but one of the flames disappeared, the multi-limbed one.

"Where… where is it?" Ironwood asked quickly.

" **I found it dormant in the mountains when we first arrived."**

"We have to get there!" Ironwood, "We have to slay it…"

" **That is not possible,"** Darkness interrupted **, "It is a creature mightier than any you have seen before."**

"So what do we do?" Ilia asked.

" **All you can do for the time being is continue as you have. It will take a great deal of negative energy to release it from its dormancy, something on par with what happened at Beacon,"** Darkness said **, "But I doubt the release of the Chaos in Vale was an accident; I suspect the spawn of my brother have something in the making."** The mortals and the android were silent, as they processed everything they had just been told. It was then that Jaune decided to drop the next bombshell about recent events.

"By the way," he said, "There's something else."

"Oh, what now?" Winter all but groaned.

"Well, you know those dragons that've been popping up lately?"

 **(in the dorms)**

As it turned out, the dragon revelation and been the softest of the bombshells they dropped. Perhaps Ironwood and Winter were so shocked by everything else, it seemed like small stuff. But at any ate, after a more formal introduction to the Ace-Ops, and a rather extensive tour of the Academy dormitories, the teams were settling in after what had proven to be a rather long day.

BRWN was settling into their dorms, though Blake was the only one actually in there at the time, with Ren and Nora doing whatever, and Weiss apparently needing to think about things (Blake had a good idea what). Ilia was bunking with Oscar; she wasn't thrilled by the prospect of bunking with a human, but she couldn't really be choosy here.

Blake was sitting on her bunk, staring at the crown of the Wild Empire, the crown that had once belonged to her ancestors. It had been a symbol of an old time; a time that Blake could never be allowed to return. Running a hand through her hair, her mind was drawn to Neith, to the one who first threw the crown away. Her hair had been shorter…

 **(in the RYPJ dorm)**

Jaune ran his hand through his hair with a sigh as he entered the dorm he was sharing with his team. As he entered the room, he noticed Ruby sitting back on one of the bunks, staring into space, one hand on her stomach.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune said, as he came over.

"Hey Jaune," Ruby answered softly.

"Where're Yang and Pyrrha?"

"Downtown," Ruby answered, sounding rather distant, "Pyrrha said she wanted to do something with her hair." Noticing how she was acting, Jaune came over and sat next to his girlfriend, putting a hand over her's.

"Is everything…"

"I'm fine," Ruby said, as she stepped away.

"Look, we can talk about this if you'd like," the blonde said, knowing what the issue was.

"I… I just need to figure this out for myself first," Ruby answered, only looking back at him briefly, before she stepped out into the hall. Jaune frowned slightly, but he knew better than to try and push her on this matter. He had a feeling he'd get a similar response from Weiss. So with that, he lifted himself up to the bunk he was in, over Ruby's. After doing so, in an attempt to take his mind off things, he again fingered the unruly strands of his hair.

 **(in the halls)**

Ruby knew how she was acting was unfair. What was happening wasn't Jaune's fault, he didn't know that was going to happen when he did what he did. Ruby wasn't sure why she felt the way she did, but she did. And, as it turned out, Weiss was thinking the same thing, as she sat in the dorms common area, staring out the window.

"Hey Weiss," Ruby greeted, as the girl in white looked up.

"Hey," Weiss answered softly, as she looked back out the window.

"Did you tell Winter about…. you know?" Ruby asked as she sat across from her.

"No," Weiss answered, shaking her head, "If I told her I had gotten magically pregnant with a boyfriend who I share with another girl, after everything else that she's had to find out, I think she would've suffered a complete mental breakdown." Ruby couldn't help but chuckle at that slightly, but it quickly faded.

"What're we going to do about… this?" Ruby asked, pointing to her stomach. Weiss put her hand on her own stomach.

"I don't know," she answered softly, "I just don't know." This was normally the time Darkness would appear and offer them some words of advice, but for once, he didn't say anything.

"So…," Ruby said slowly, "Want to help me think of names?" She made it as a mood lightener, but Weiss didn't look amused.

"I need some sleep," she said as she rose to her feet, "I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be a busy day." Ruby took a breath as she watched her friend leave before she looked out the window over the city. Suddenly, a shot of pain went through Ruby's head, as she grabbed it and winced. However, when the pain subsided, she touched her face, and felt scales….

 **(in Mantle)**

" _Gods above, I hate Atlas."_

" _I can't imagine why. I think this place can be quite fun."_

" _I agree, especially with the job she gave us."_

"Enough of that," Watts said as he strolled down the road. As he was walking, the street light along the road suddenly turned green from red. This almost caused two cars to crash into each other.

"Remember, we have a task at hand," Watts continued, as he polished off one of his rings, "We have to make preparations."

 **(elsewhere in Mantle)**

" _Tyrian, are you position?"_

"Oh yes," Tyrian answered as he strolled down the road, his tail wrapped around his waist like a belt while he wore a dark brown coat, "I've been looking forward to this."

 **(somewhere else in Mantle)**

" _Cheshire?"_ Dashing across the roofs of Mantle was Cheshire, wearing a dark purple stealth suit, and her pink tied back into a bun.

"Ready, and getting impatient," she said, as she perched atop a chimney, her cat tail flicking, "When can I go after someone?"

 **(again, elsewhere in Mantle)**

"Simmer down," Crane said, "We all have rolls to play." He was riding a black motorcycle with red highlights down the road, with a hood ornament that resembled a horse's head.

" _My point exactly,"_ Watts said _, "Keep your wits about you while you're here. I don't want to have to deal with the consequences of any of you being apprehended."_

" _Oh, it won't be a problem for me,"_ Cheshire hissed.

"We need a place where we can regroup if we run into… obstacles," Crane said.

" _We do that, we run a greater risk of being discovered,"_ Watts said.

" _And at any rate,"_ Tyrian added _, "I can deal with any 'obstacles'. I may have already dealt with one already."_

" _Be ready, all of you,"_ Watts said _, "Mantle may be easy prey, but I'd rather not carry the burden of this whole endeavor."_

" _Oh my dear doctor,"_ Cheshire said _, "I'm not going to let you have all the fun."_ As he was listening, Crane came to a stop by a large display screen. It showed a tall woman with light-blonde hair, tanned skin, and violet eyes; Crane knew that face quite well. The face of one Robyn Hill. He tightened his grip on the handlebars of his motorcycle.

"And I think I know where to start," he hissed.

 **Note: Let me say that I'm one of the few in the world who doesn't hate Jaune's new haircut.**

 **This chapter was a bit harder than one might think, because it mainly dealt with completely redoing the discussion with Ironwood with the new information and knowledge. With Oz here, I think things will go a lot better than they did in canon. Of course, there are an extra two baddies working for Salem.**

 **To briefly touch on the Arch-Grimm, I came up with them almost immediately after I did the Spirits. With the idea that the Grimm are the God of Darkness' answer to the God of Light's Spirits, I think you can say the Arch-Grimm are that to the High Spirits. They've been building for a while, but this is the first time they've been fully identified. Again, this was planned from the beginning, I just couldn't find a natural way to bring them up until now.**

 **And, the Ace-Ops just got utterly thrashed by Shade. That was fun to write.**

 **Be sure to review.**


	86. Of Missions and Musings

_**Of Missions and Musings**_

As it things would have it, Ironwood actually had a plan of his own for Salem. It consisted of moving Amity Colosseum over Atlas, and repurposing it as a communications tower. Unfortunately, recent… revelations, meant that the plan and to be… reconsidered (Shade said he expected it to be completely scrapped in the foreseeable future). Nonetheless, Ironwood already had a mission in mind for them.

The mission in question involved an abandoned Dust mine a few miles North of the city that had been taken over by a particularly large Geist, and overrun by Grimm. The task was simple: clear out the Grimm; compared to what RYPJ and BRWN had been up to for the past year or so, that was an easy job. They were to rendezvous the Ace-Ops at the mine, the elites already there.

A small flight of Mantas soared over the landing area, as Ruby opened the door. Aside from her red cape was wearing her normal red skirt, with a pair of red shorts underneath and a pale blouse; she had a pair of black bracers and fingerless gloves. Most noticeably hair was now slightly choppier and spikier, and for what little his opinion was worth, Jaune liked it. It gave her a more punkish, rogue look, that somehow both made her look more mature, and cuter at the same time. Ruby was a tad irked by that (she was getting close to seventeen, she didn't' want to be cute anymore), but wasn't going to refuse a compliment from her boyfriend.

"Ready?" she called back to her team.

"Like you even need to ask," Yang's look was largely unchanged, save for her clothes. She now had khaki overalls and a low cut-white shirt, a black crop jacket, and tall black boots. Noticeably, her arm and been upgraded slightly, being noticeably bulkier and larger. Slipping her sunglasses, she glanced back at Pyrrha.

"Race you down," she said with a wink. With that, she leapt out of the airship, to which Pyrrha rolled her eyes and chuckled slightly. The red-head had also changed her style for the time. Instead of it being in its high ponytail, Pyrrha now had her hair down in a braid. She had also taken off the bandage on her face, and while the wound Talos gave her had healed, she now had a blemish on her cheek that consisted of a thin cut mark, and a small but noticeable burn scar. She was wearing a bronze breastplate with a bronze gauntlets, a bronze shoulder-pad over her left shoulder, around her waist was a red tunic. Under her armor, Pyrrha was wearing a thick wool shirt for warmth, and she had kept her bronze circlet. Like Yang, her prosthetic was bulkier, and looked stronger.

"See you soon," she said, as she leapt out the airship as well, which just left Jaune and Ruby.

"You ready?" Jaune asked. As for him, he had also changed his hair, which was now much shorter, and spikier. It was a new style that both his girlfriends seemed to like (though Ruby quipped to Weiss that it looked like a thing of bananas, which Weiss couldn't contest).

"Yeah," Ruby answered. Jaune came down to give her a kiss on the cheek, but Ruby instead leapt out before he could. The blonde sighed at that, before he also leapt out the ship.

Meanwhile, the same thing was happening with BRWN. Blake glanced down over the mine, as she took a breath in anticipation. She had cut her hail short, similar to that of Neith. She also found a local blacksmith who had melted the crown down, and remade it into a pin with the six animal heads which she now wore on her chest. She was also a white jacket, similar to her old one.

"Look alive," she said back to her team, "Let's get in and get out!"

"You got it fearless leader!" Nora declared, "See you at the bottom Weiss!" She had cut her hair slightly (now a similar length to her name at Beacon), and she was wearing a sleeveless coat with a white collared shirt over a black short dress. With that, she leapt out the airship.

"I should go make sure she doesn't land on anyone," Ren said, as he came up. Aside from his green coat, the biggest difference in his appearance was his hair was now tied back into a long braid.

"Land safely," Blake said, as she and her partner clasped hands with each other, and Ren leapt out. That just left Weiss. She was now wearing a blue. Most notably she had hair up in a large braid (which Nora quipped could kill someone) pinned up by a three pointed crown, with longer bangs. She was wearing a white dress with dark blue gloves, and red earrings. The only one still sitting, Weiss was rubbing her forehead, trying to deal with a shot of pain that was going through it. Slowly creeping across her face were patches of scales.

"You okay, Weiss?" Blake asked.

"I'm fine," Weiss lied, willing the pain and scales away, and stood up, "Let's go." With that, she leapt out as well. Blake's brow furrowed after her, before she took a breath.

Both teams had improved their landing strategies significantly in the time that had passed, especially considering how they could all fly now. But showing off their dragon powers here seemed rather inappropriate, so instead, they used various tactics they had improved over the years. Weiss, most notably, summoned up construct versions of her wings, and was able to float down to the ground without issue. As they all landed, it was in a near perfect line, facing towards the mouth of the mine they were going for.

"Must you all be so dramatic?" Everyone looked up as they saw Shade floating down to their level. Of everyone, he was the only who's appearance was completely unchanged.

"What?" Nora asked, spreading her arms, "Posing is fun!"

"I would not know," Shade answered, as he landed on the ground, and walked forward, "Now, come, don't you all have a mission to complete?" He didn't need to tell them twice, as the group struck out into the mine. However, as they did, both Ruby and Weiss flinched in pain again as another shock went through their heads. The two exchanged looks at that, before they followed.

 **(in Atlas)**

While the hunters were busy with dealing with the mine, Ironwood had taken this as an opportunity to speak with Oz. He really needed some advice at this point, and for his own, Oz had some rather select words for Ironwood.

"What you're doing is wrong." It wasn't like the general hadn't been expecting that from his mentor, but he didn't think Oz would be that blunt about it; in the past, at least he had been more eloquent.

"Oz…," he began.

"All you are doing is creating an environment where negativity can thrive," Oz interrupted, "Fear, anger, and hatred are all simmering down there in Mantle. Things that the Grimm thrive on."

"I need to ensure security," Ironwood answered.

"That's a somewhat moot issue if you consider what we know about Salem. James, you can't put all this in one big effort."

"I know!" Ironwood snapped slamming his hand on the table, which he seemed to realize he just did. But fortunately, Oz didn't mind, as the general took a breath and got up for his seat to look out the window and over the city.

"The days I finally get around to sleeping," Ironwood said, "I end up laying awake for hours on end, thinking about what's going on in Mantle. I hate the fact that people down there are suffering because of what I'm doing, but if the alternative is Salem getting her hooks in Mantle, or Atlas for that matter, and potentially destroying _everyone_ , then I can't see any other option." Oz listened carefully to Ironwood, and he couldn't deny that the general did have a point, but that didn't make his solution the correct one.

"James," Oz said, as he stood up, "I understand you're a soldier, but what you are doing is not the way." He came up beside Ironwood; the sight was almost comical, a child lecturing a tall, veteran general of Atlas; but neither of them were laughing.

"I learned long ago that trying to stop Salem by sheer strength, or trying to outplay her is an exercise in futility," the wizard explained, "It just can't be done."

"Then… what do we do?" Ironwood asked.

"We focus not on defeating evil, but preserving good. We work on the little things, little acts of kindness and decency, that is what will give us victory in the end," Oz said, before pausing, "Think of it as 'asymmetrical warfare' if that better suits your outlook." Ironwood listened to his teacher for a long time, as he considered all he was being told. As an officer, he always thought in terms of winning and losing the war, not the individual battles. But hearing what Oz said, about working to create good instead of destroying evil, it made him think.

"So, what do you have in mind?" Ironwood asked.

"Well, perhaps now would be a good time for some brainstorming," Oz said with a smile.

 **(in Mantle)**

Ilia had wondered whether or not Atlas would've changed in the time she was gone. In some ways it had, but in other ways, the ways that mattered, it hadn't. The people up there on their floating island continued to build their wealth on the backs of the people of Mantle, though one thing Ilia had actually noticed this time was that the humans only looked slightly better off than the Faunus. Not that it undid what was happening to the latter, but the former weren't in that good a place themselves.

Ilia took a breath, trying to collect her thoughts as she kept down the street. She had decided not to accompany RYPJ and BRWN when she heard they were going to clear out an abandoned Dust mine. Knowing very well that could potentially mean, Ilia made it a personal matter to stay as far away from that place as she possibly could. That was why the chameleon was now in Mantle, trying to get her thoughts together. She had altered her look slightly, along with the others: her ponytail was done a bit lower, and she had changed her outfit into a long sleeved, black shirt under a white jacket, with black skinny jeans along with a yellow belt, and a black choker.

Realizing that walking on the streets wasn't doing her any good, Ilia moved into an alley, where she took the chance to leap up to the roof top. Once she was at the top, the chameleon took another breath, as she squatted on the ledge, staring at the sky.

"What are you doing, Ilia?" she asked herself. The stated reason she came was to redeem herself for her past wrongs, but was that _really_ why Ilia was here? The others were here on some mission to save the world from Salem, and they were being guided by the God of Darkness; was that Ilia's mission? Was that was why she was here? She didn't know…

"You know, that's my ledge." Ilia suddenly flared several colors as she was caught off guard, before looking over her shoulder to see a woman standing behind her. She was a cat Faunus, with a pink tail, and bright pink hair that was tied back. She was wearing a dark purple stealth suit, and her mouth was covered by a cloth that an arc that looked like a red smile.

"I…," Ilia started to say.

"Relax, I'm just joshing you," the woman said as she clasped her hands behind her back, and sauntered over to Ilia, "But what's a cute little lizard like you doing up here?" Ilia looked at her in surprise, but then realized she probably shouldn't have been, especially considering how she flashed colors just a moment ago.

"I just wanted to get away from down there," she answered softly, looking back at the ground, and the people bustling about, "I needed to clear my head."

"Don't we all?" the woman said cooly, as she stood on the ledge beside Ilia, "So, what's on your mind?" Ilia was silent, as she noticed a truck go by filled with dirty miners, all Faunus themselves, her eyes narrowing.

"I… I just don't know what to do," she said softly. The woman followed her gaze, where the miners were being yelled at by several humans.

"If that's what you're thinking about," she said ,"you could just starting killing them." Ilia whirled around to face her, shocked by those words

"Don't give me that, I saw how you were looking at them," the cat said, "It's a look I've seen in many Faunus. You know you want to." A chill went down Ilia's spine at those words, as she turned green. She wanted to refute that, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. The woman then shrugged slightly.

"Not saying you should do it, but it's an option." With that, the cat skipped away, and hopped over the ledge. That left Ilia alone again, to mull over those chilling words.

 **Note: I know this chapter was shorter than the previous ones, but I thought it was worth posting. This chapter was actually going to be a bit longer, but I was having some serious writers block at the end, and I figured that what I needed to accomplish in this chapter had been accomplished anyway, so I made Ilia's conversation with Magenta the ending, and decided to include the original ending in the next chapter.**

 **I knew I wasn't going to include the actual battle in the mine, mostly because there wasn't anything to add. In canon, it serves mostly as a way to show the Ace-Ops off, so I didn't really think I could offer anything worth reading; we may have gotten an added scene with Pyrrha, and that would be it. I'm going to say now I'm not going to stick with canon as much as I've done with other volumes; how I'm going to leave up to the imagination for now, but one group I'm hoping to expand upon are the Happy Huntresses. I was also initially going to depict a scene of Ilia in the mine, but I thought that would wrap up her personal struggle a bit too early. I plan on her going through more of an arc in this version.**

 **When thinking of how Pyrrha's look could change, I originally considered giving her shorter hair, mostly because I liked the look, but then I realized that would make her seem to much like Blake (especially with the teasing between Pyrrha and Yang). So I decided to give her a braid, and a scar.**

 **Be sure to review. Something I'm sure some people have noticed was I have a tendency to name chapters "Of X and X". That's intentional motif my part.**


	87. Circumstance

_**Circumstance**_

Soon enough, the mission was over, and RYPJ and BRWN were filing out of the mine. As it turned out, the Ace-Ops did the lion's share of the work, though Shade said they were all just showing off, and it wasn't like they could really disagree with him in that respect. Nonetheless, it didn't make their work any less impressive, at least for some of the group.

"That was so cool!" Ruby said, "The way you could…." Her talking quickly devolved into a stream of disconnected compliments that one would have to listen to very carefully in order to really understand.

"Well," Marrow said with a shrug, "We try."

"Don't get cocky," Elm said, socking him in the shoulder, "Everyone here's replaceable."

"By that line of thinking, so are you," Vine said casually, which earned a pause and a scowl from his teammate.

"Don't any of you sell yourselves short, though," Clover said, "I think you eight are all pretty capable yourselves."

"Well, we try too," Jaune said. Ironwood had, as far as they knew, not told the Ace-Ops about Darkness, or the teams' "abilities". To that end, they certainly hadn't shown them, not yet at least. Of course just one of them could've cleared the entire mine with little to no effort, but that was neither here nor there.

"You guys made need to do some more training before you can catch up to our level though," Harriet boasted, jerking her thumb at herself.

"Careful, do not let your minds be taken by your egos." Despite themselves, all the Ace-Ops flinched at Shade's voice, as he strolled out of the mien and past his students, dusting off his suit as he did. As he approached them, Marrow took an instinctive step back, Vine and Elm held their ground (though the latter narrowed her eyes), while Harriet glared and clenched her teeth. Clover, however, managed to form a smile.

"Doctor," he said, offering a hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you more formerly."

"Of course," Shade answered, as he stopped in front of him, and looked down at the hand, pondering what to do.

 _Come on,_ Jaune said _Don't be a jerk._ Shade mentally sighed, as he shook Clover's hand.

"I hope you can understand my actions, you were threatening my students," the doctor said cooly.

"Of course, it was just a misunderstanding," Clover said, before glancing at his team, "I guess this is why you look before you leap."

"Yes Sir!" Vine and Elm asserted, while Harriet just continued to glare. Shortly after that, the Ace-Ops took their leave, as Shade wiped his hand off slightly on his suit.

"Thanks for waiting for them to leave before doing that," Weiss said as she came up next to Shade.

"I do not trust them," Shade said narrowing his eyes at the departing warriors, "They are loyal only to their kingdom."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ren asked.

"Their state's will, and their own will are one and the same," Shade said as he started looking into the distance, "A soldier should be loyal to their country, but not to the point where they cannot think for themselves." That certainly gave the group something to think about, as they exchanged looks.

"There." The eight looked back at their teacher to see him pointing to a mountain not far from where they were.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, putting her hand over her eyes and squinting slightly.

"It is under that mountain where the Discord is sleeping," Shade explained. That sent a chill up and down their collective spines, as Jaune audibly gulped.

"Remind me not to fly over that mountain later," Yang said, elbowing Pyrrha slightly. The red-head just nodded in agreement.

"Now, let's head back," Ruby said, "I need some cook…." She froze, as suddenly another shock of pain went through her head. Weiss was about to ask what's wrong, before the same thing happened to her.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked, coming up to his girlfriends. As he did, he stopped to see scales starting to climb across both their faces.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We… we have to go," Weiss said as she and Ruby suddenly hurried away, stumbling slightly. Once they were of descent distance, both turned into dragons, and flapped away.

"What's with them?" Yang asked.

"Do you think has something to do with the babies?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune narrowed his eyes, as he followed after his girlfriends.

"Well, that's a thing now," Nora said, as she and the others watched the dragons fly away. Shade watched as well, as he arched an eyebrow, before he vanished. That left the group down three members, as they stared after the dragons.

"So… should we wait for them before leaving?" Ren asked.

 **(in Mantle)**

Though she was good at it (at least according to his proteges), Robyn Hill didn't like campaigning; it was mostly words, and she much preferred action. But sometimes words were needed to get the action going, so who was she to complain? Thought that didn't mean the rest of the state had stopped.

"All the Grimm were cleared out?" she inquired, as she looked at the Scroll, shifting through the pictures of the area.

"That's what it looked like," Joanna Greenleaf, one of the "Happy Huntresses", as the media had come to call them.

"Ah man," May Marigold griped, "I was looking forward to doing that ourselves."

"What's Ironwood planning?" Fiona Thyme asked, "It's not like that mine is any good anymore."

"The general never does anything without reason," Robyn answered, handing the sheep Faunus her Scroll back, "Keep your eyes open for now, this probably isn't the end of it." Her attention was then

"Still stirring up the pot?" That got the Huntresses to whirl around, save for Robyn, who recognized the voice, and just sighed. She then turned around to see a tall, muscular man with a short beard and mustache, and a buzzcut of dark blue hair; he was wearing a standard Atlesian uniform, albeit he had a pin over this heart with the image of a shield with two crossed swords. Robyn rolled her eyes at the sight of the man.

"Don't you something to better to do Norton?" she asked, folding her arms at him.

"Implying that keeping your rallies at peace isn't a good spending of my time?" Norton Mount, the Mantle Chief of Security, responded.

"Exactly," Robyn answered. Norton chuckled slightly, shaking his head, as he boosted himself off the wall.

"Just keeping an eye on things," he said, "All it takes is one person…."

"Yeah," May said, narrowing her eyes as she came closer to the chief, "That's why we're here." Norton just sniggered at her.

"Of course, why should I doubt the misfits Robyn gathered up?" he said, leaning down at the blue haired girl. May clenched her teeth, and tensed up slightly, as she reached around her back to where her weapon was. However, she, and the other Huntresses, had their attention taken by the approach of three men. One was a tall, burly man with dark skin and a shaved head with two gold earrings, another was a Faunus with a light brown complexion and a short mohawk of black hair with a weasel tail as his animal trait, and the last a thin guy with spiky blonde hair, and a lip piercing. These were Norton's "Deputies", and all were wearing similar uniforms to him, with the same pins. They all had broad swords on their hips.

"We going to have trouble?" the blonde, named Martinus Prior, asked May, as he leaned into her.

"I dunno," May answered, "You tell me." Fortunately, Robyn put a hand on May's shoulder, and gently pulled her back, and Norton did the same for his Deputy.

"You want my permit?" Robyn asked cooly.

"No need," Norton said, equally cool, as he finally stepped out of the way, gesturing with head, "Be safe out there." With that, the Happy Huntresses were finally able to pass.

"Gah, I hate those four," the Faunus, who was named Bishop Ford, grumbled.

"Careful," the big guy, named Guy Sangbleu, said, "Let the Sheriff decide before we get into fights." With that, the three looked at their boss, who just gestured.

"Come one," Norton said, "We can watch better from the back." The Deputies did as their leader told them, and they moved into the building Robyn was holding her rally in, and took up their places in the back. Unbeknownst to either the Huntresses, nor the Deputies, another figure, wearing a mask was also watching.

"Those two haven't changed at all," Crane muttered, as he hiked up the hood he was wearing, and took his leave, not the least bit interested in the rally.

 **(in the nearby cliffs)**

Ruby and Weiss flew up to a cliff that looked over the valley, before they both landed, Ruby rather clumsily, and both exhaled in relief.

 _Finally, it's gone_ Weiss said, stretching her neck and wings.

 _I don't get it_ Ruby answered, as she nestled down _Where'd this all come from?_ Weiss looked at her, with an arched eye crest. Ruby paused, as she thought about that a little longer.

 _Okay, point taken_ the red dragon relented.

 _Are you guys okay?_ The two looked up as Jaune flapped down to their level.

 _Yes, we're both fine_ Weiss lied, but Jaune rather quickly saw through that.

 _Oka, can you both just talk to me?!_ he asked _Ever since we came together in Argus, you guys have been avoiding me! Please, let me help you!_ That came across way harsher than it probably should've, as both his girlfriends winced at it. But neither could say they didn't understand where he was coming from.

 _We know_ Ruby said softly, as she hung her head slightly _It's just…_

 _We just both found out we're about to become mothers because of some magical nonsense_ Weiss answered, _We just don't know what to do about all this going on._

" **I would certainly not use that term for what is going on,"** Darkness said as he stepped out of nowhere, getting his students' attention.

 _Can you tell us what the heck's going on?_ Jaune asked. Darkness was silent for a time, as he approached the dragons, folding his arms behind his back as he did.

" **I have been giving this matter a great deal of thought, and I believe I understand the issue. Now, if I may…"** That wasn't really a request for permission, more like an announcement that he was about to do something. He held up his hand, and seemed to focus on Ruby and Weiss, as if looking for something. And while neither girl felt anything, after a couple of seconds, Darkness nodded.

" **It was as I thought,"** he said **, "Your children are only truly growing within you while you are in these forms."**

 _What does that mean?_ Jaune asked nervously, a shiver traveling the length of his spine all the way to the tip of his tail.

" **It means the magic within you is trying to force you to transform so your children can grow within you,"** the god explained, rubbing his chin slightly **, "It stands to reason that the more you fight it, the worse it will get, until eventually…"**

 _Until what?_ Weiss asked, though she was a tad afraid to hear the answer.

" **You two may be forced into dragon form, and become unable to revert until your children are born."** The eyes of the three widened at that. The idea of being trapped in this form like this was equally frightening to both Ruby and Weiss, as it was to Jaune.

 _What do we do?_ Ruby asked

 _We can't remain in this form for that long!_ Weiss declared, her tail involuntarily slapping the ground.

" **Fortunately, I have a relatively simple solution,"** Darkness answered, holding up a hand to calm the group.

 _What is it?_ Weiss asked.

" **What I can do is accelerate their time, which will cause them to develop quicker,"** Darkness explained **, "What may normally take months, will conceivably take only a few weeks, if even that. You will be able to enter your human forms, but the pain will not go away. You will likely need to routinely assume dragon form to relieve it, and so your children can grow."** The three exchanged looks with each other, as some unspoken words passed between them.

 _Well, we can do that, right?_ Ruby asked.

 _I suppose_ Weiss answered, as her tail flicked slightly. Jaune tried to think of something to say, something in support of them, but what could a guy say to his (dragon) girlfriends on something like this? Considering that, Jaune just decided to say his default things.

 _I'll hang out with you guys when you're doing it too_ he piped up. The two looked at him for a time, before Ruby purred at that, as she crept over and nuzzled him slightly, this time being careful to avoid poking him with her thorns. Weiss quickly followed, rubbing her neck against his, as she hissed affectionally. Darkness nodded at the sight of that, before he flicked his wrist, creating a small purple orb in his palm.

" **Now I would prefer you remain still, this enchantment is, as Nora might put it, 'small stuff' for me,"** he said **, "However, it will still require finesse."**

 **Note: I've had a tiring, and rather demoralizing last few weeks; I get home after work and I'm too worn down to start typing. It wasn't helped that I had absolutely** _ **no**_ **idea how to proceed with this chapter. I debated heavily on whether or not to include Jacques' scene with Weiss. It was mostly an empowering moment for Weiss; sort of a "Calling the Old Man Out" scene, and being completely honest, the narrative wouldn't have lost much if it had been cut. The primary additions would've been Jaune and Nora backing Weiss up, and that would've been about it. I decided that such a scene would be better suited for later, after Weiss has come to terms with being a (dragon) mom.**

 **The big development is Ruby and Weiss find out more about their "expectants", and Darkness offering to help. This may seem like a cop out, but a natural, yet long drawn out pregnancy would've dragged the plot down; this way, I can keep the primary conflict going, while allowing this side conflict to play out and move on. I thought it'd be better if we got the ball rolling, and it gives the reader more to look forward to.**

 **More OCs in this, including Norton Mount, and his Deputies. I will say that much how Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses draws on Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Norton draws on the Sheriff of Nottingham. Likewise, his Deputies draw on various foes of Robin Hood; I'll go further into this as the story progresses.**

 **Be sure to review. Not that this is relevant, but I feel it's worth putting out there, is that May Marigold is (according to her VA) a transgirl. If you didn't know that, I don't blame you, since it's never brought up in the series. I don't think it's going to come up here, but it's still a character trait I suppose is worth establishing.**

 **Side-note: I'm in the planning stages for a Monsterverse fanfic. If you're a fellow** _ **Godzilla**_ **fan, keep your eyes out for it.**


	88. and Pomp

… _ **and Pomp**_

Upon getting back to the Academy, Ironwood brought them to Amity Colosseum, As for why, they weren't sure, but it seemed important as Ironwood was there with both Winter and Penny. Qrow, Oscar, and Ilia were there as well.

"Can you please tell us what's going on here, Jim?" Qrow said, "This is cutting into our time here."

"And what would you be spending the time doing?" Winter commented, "Drinking?"

"Among other things," Qrow said sarcastically, taking another swig from his flask. Ironwood, however, was in too good a mood to be annoyed with Qrow at this point, as he looked over the assembled teams.

"It's been my understanding that none of you ever got a chance to finish you're Beacon education," Ironwood said.

"Well, stuff happens," Ruby said with a slight giggle.

"That it does," Ironwood answered with his own smile, "But from what I've been told, you have all demonstrated yourselves time and again to be some of the most capable huntsmen and huntresses across the planet, and I think it's time you got recognized from that." With that, the general reached into his pocket, and pulled out his Scroll, gesturing for the other's to do the same. They all did so, and to their surprise, after Ironwood pressed a couple buttons, official hunter licenses appeared on them.

"Are these…," Jaune began.

"Congratulations," Ironwood said with a smile, "You are all now licensed huntsman. Brothers know…." Ironwood trailed off, as he remembered who was standing in the colosseum with them. Everyone looked at Shade, who was standing off to the side. Up until this point, he had only been paying partial attention, but upon hearing his name, doctor chuckled to himself slightly, as he shifted into his divine form.

" **As far as I am concerned, they have earned this position a hundred times over, by now,"** the god said with a nod **, "At any rate, they are probably the most powerful individuals in this room aside from myself."** It took them some time for the (now former) students to appreciate what was happening. This had been what a lot of them, Jaune and Ruby in particular, had wanted for a long time, so this almost seemed unreal.

"There is also something I want to announce," Ironwood added. That was he took a breath, as if he had to brace himself for what he was about to say.

"I will be officially lifting the embargo on Atlas," Ironwood said, "And opening our borders." That caught everyone off guard save Oscar; even Penny and Winter were shocked at that announcement.

"General, what is this about?" Winter asked.

"Ozpin and I had long conversation about this," Ironwood explained, "We came to a conclusion that if Salem really wanted to, she'd probably be able to infiltrate Atlas without much trouble. So, by creating an environment that feeds fear and contempt, all we're doing is playing into her hands." Everyone could only stare at the information; it almost seemed to good to be true.

"General," Weiss said, "This is… amazing."

"It's what's necessary," Ironwood said, "We all have some work to do."

"But until then, in light of all that's happened, and what's been established," Oz said as he assumed control, "I believe some celebration may be in order." The group then found themselves being treated to ice cream cake, which no one was inclined to say "no" to. Using her swords, Penny cut the cake for them, which the group promptly dug into.

"Open wide," Nora all but commanded, as she held a piece up to Ren's mouth. Ren, having long gotten used to this kind of thing, did as Nora instructed, allowing Nora to put that piece in hi south. As she was doing so, though, she noticed Darkness standing off to the side..

"Aren't you going to have some?" Nora asked.

" **I do not eat,"** the god answered, holding up his hand. He then looked aside, and rubbed his chin slightly.

" **I… have no sense of taste,"** he admitted **, "In the strictest sense I do not have any senses."**

"So… how do you…"

" **Well, how it works is…"**

"Stop!" Jaune suddenly said, calling over from his place with Weiss, "I don't think any of us really want to know." Laughs went about RYPJ and BRWN at that, and Darkness just chuckled slightly as he shook his head slightly.

" **Enjoy your celebration,"** he said **, "I am afraid I must go for the time, though."**

"Really? Why?" Ruby asked.

" **I wish to study the Discord further,"** Darkness answered **, "I will be back soon."** With that, he faded away. Blake watched as he did, before taking another bite of her cake. That was when she noticed Ilia sitting on the bleachers, away from everyone else. Frowning slightly, Blake took another piece of cake, before she climbed up to where the chameleon was sitting.

"You're missing cake," she said, offering Ilia the plate. When she didn't take it, Blake set it beside her.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Ilia was silent for a time, as she kept staring at her lap, before she finally looked up at the sky.

"I'm not sure why, but I was hoping things would be different," Ilia said, "That something would change. But…" She took a breath and shook her head slightly.

"I'm not sure why I was thinking like that," she said, "Why I thought the humans would be any better."

"Ilia…," Blake began.

"Do you think hating what's different is in their nature?" Ilia asked, "That they can't do anything else?" Blake stared at Ilia for a time, shocked that she was talking like that.

"How can you say that?" she asked, "After all we've been through."

"All _you've_ been through," Ilia said, as he looked down at the humans.

"You do remember there was a time when the Faunus did the same thing to them, right?" Blaked asked.

"Yeah, and it was a really long time ago, and the humans have more than gotten even with us," Ilia said, "If anything, I think the scales are a tad unbalanced now." Blake listened to what Ilia said, as she took the pin she made from the Imperial Crown in her hand. Was she right?

"Well, I can't make you come down," Blake said, as he got back up, "But I don't think staying up here is going to make thing better between us." Ilia wanted to answer, but Blake left, but she left before she could, leaving the chameleon alone again.

During all of this, Pyrrha was eating some of her own cake until Yang suddenly seized her, and held up her Scroll to take a selfie with her. Pyrrha was surprised, but smiled nonetheless as Yang took the picture. That was when she noticed Penny watching the group with a smile, apparently incapable of eating herself. It was then that Pyrrha decided to ask a question she really did not to ask.

"Why don't you go talk to Ruby," she said, "I think she and Qrow could use some company." She pointed up to see Ruby and Qrow talking in the bleachers of the stadium. Yang, never one to pass up a chance to be a big sister, proceeded in that direction, which allowed Pyrrha to approach the android.

"Hey Penny," she called softly, getting the other girl's attention.

"Yes, Friend Pyrrha?" Penny asked, as chipper as ever, "What can I do for you?"

"Mind if I ask you a… strange question?" Pyrrha asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Of course, you may ask me whatever question you want!" Penny declared. After a moment, Pyrrha took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing_ she thought.

"Do you know… and feel free to not answer!" she quickly said, before taking the plunge, "But do you have… a brother?" Penny's smile vanished almost immediately, as her eyes seemed to widen.

"Talos," she murmured, mostly to herself. That was all the confirmation Pyrrha needed, as she put her hands behind her back to try and prevent herself from fidgeting anymore than she already was.

"You… met him?" Penny asked as she started to come closer.

"Well, in a way," Pyrrha answered, shifting on her feet, "It's a little…" She couldn't' finish as Penny was suddenly right in Pyrrha's face.

"Where did you see him? What was he doing?" she asked quickly, "Is he alright? Is he hurt?" Pyrrha supposed she shouldn't have been surprised by this, but still she was taken aback by how intensely Penny was questioning her.

"Well, last I saw him he was damaged, but he managed to get away."

"Damaged?" Penny asked, cocking her head.

"He…. fought Yang and I while we were in Argus," Pyrrha explained.

"Fought him? Why?"

"He… still thinks your dead," Pyrrha explained, "And he blames me for it."

"He blames you?" Penny asked, "Well he shouldn't, as I am quite clearing not dead."

"Well, I guess he doesn't know yet," Pyrrha answered. Penny looked down for a time, as she thought about what she was just told. It had been so long since she last saw her brother, and that last time had been when he ran General Marigold through. She had tried to find after that, but he had dropped off the grid completely.

"I…," she tired to say, but found herself unable to say anything.

"Penny." The android looked up the red head, who looked like she really didn't want to keep talking.

"He was working with Salem." Upon seeing that, Penny looked like she had just been slapped in a face. She opened her mouth again, but then closed it, before rocketing away into the night sky.

"Penny!" Ironwood said, as he noticed her flying away, as did everyone else.

"What happened?" the general asked, as he came up to Pyrrha.

"I saw her brother," Pyrrha answered.

"You saw Talos?" Ironwood asked, "Where?" Pyrrha wasn't sure why the general wanted to know, but now had a real suspicion that this meant nothing good.

"Yang!" she then called, "You might want to come over here!"

 **(in the Schnee manor)**

Jacques was frustrated. Not that that was abnormal; some would even see that frustrated was one of his default emotions. But as he stared at the recent poll report, he almost felt like breaking stuff. Jacques was running his campaign on opposing Ironwood, a man who certainly wasn't popular with the people, but so was Robyn Hill, and she _was_ popular with the people, especially in Mantle. His campaign manager said he might have to start making some concessions, but Jacques had learnt long ago that the saying "give an inch, take a mile" was _very_ true.

"By the Brothers," he grumbled, "Why can't things be simpler?" That was when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter!" The door opened slightly to reveal Whitley leaning his head in.

"Father," the youngest Schnee said softly.

"What is it?" Jacques demanded.

"There's someone here to see you," Whitley said.

"Who?"

"He just aid he knows you," Whitley answered.

"And that's supposed to me mean something for me?" Jacques growled, "And here I thought you were smarter than your sisters." Whitley visibly flinched at that, but he didn't say anything.

"Please Jacques," a familiar voice then said as Whitley was pushed aside by someone, "Don't be so hard on the boy." That was when a face Jacques hadn't seen for quite awhile appeared before him. A face he thought he wouldn't see again.

"Arthur?" he asked, as he rose to his feet, "You're alive!"

"That I am, dear Jacques," Watts answered simply as he came in, taking off his coat as he did so, and turning to Whitley, "Please leave us, you father rand I have business to discuss." Knowing better than to remain, the son hurried out.

"Do you care to tell me what the hell this is about?" Jacques asked as he came up to confront Watts, who made himself a home on one of the couches, "You disappear for years then pop back up out of nowhere? I think I'm owed an explanation!"

"Calm down, my friend," Watts said, as he set his briefcase on the table, "I'm here with a proposition."

"Come now, Jacques," Watts said with a slight but audible laugh, "You and I both know you'll never win the election. Against a young, strapping graduate of Atlas Academy? I'd be surprised if you take so much as a single district." Jacques opened then closed his mouth; the doctor wasn't really wrong.

"What does this have to do with anything?" he asked.

"Come now, you and I both know if you lose, you're blood will be in the water," Watts explained, "And then, it'll only be a matter of time before the Shayu start coming for you."

"I'm still not getting the real point of any of this," Jacques said.

"Well, what if I told you, I had a foolproof way of dealing with problems like these?" Watts asked, leaning forward. That made Jacques' ears perk up. Now he was always wary of offers like these, like any good businessman. But he also knew that opportunities didn't always come around, and when they did, you had to at least…. explore them.

"I'd be very interested," the man said, as he leaned in.

 **(in the Academy dorms)**

"We need to start thinking of names." Jaune and Weiss, both of whom were lounging on the bed, looked up, while Ruby was unpacking. After the mission, RYPJ and BRWN had decided to shuffle their sleeping arrangements; the three were now sharing a room, while Yang, Pyrrha, Blake, and Ilia bunked together in the next room over, with Ren, Nora, and Oscar in the last one.

"Names?" Jaune asked.

"Well yeah," Ruby answered, as she put the last bag down, and sat on the bed next to her boyfriend, "What're we going to name our kids?" Jaune thought he'd be a lot older when he started pondering questions like these, but here they were.

"Well," Jaune said, leaning his head against the wall, "I was thinking you two could take the lead on it. I mean, it's Arc family tradition for the mom to name the kids."

"Really?" Ruby asked; she had asked because she had _zero_ ideas on what to name her child. She paused, as she thought about names dragons might have.

"Well I was thinking…"

"I would strongly recommend against any fantastical names," Weiss interrupted, as she leaned back on Jaune's shoulder, closing her eyes, "I'm not naming my child something absurd, like 'Aenarion', or 'Eltharion'." Ruby pouted at that.

"You got any ideas?" Jaune asked, looking down at Weiss. The girl pursed her lips, not opening her eyes.

"Something dignified," she said, "Give me some time and I'll think of something." Jaune smiled, as he looked towards Ruby, and offered his free hand. The girl in red smiled, as she sat cross-legged, and intertwined her fingers with his.

"I'm sure you'll both be great moms," he said. Weiss finally opened her eyes, as she looked up in thought.

"Honestly, aside from Darkness, I've never had any good models to emulate on that," she said, "Thinking of being a mother myself, I…" Her hand traveled down to her stomach, rubbing it slightly.

"I spent my life having my future dictated to me," Weiss said softly, more to her unborn child than her loved ones, "I promise, I will never do that to you."

"Do you think we'll lay eggs?" Ruby asked. There was a peered of silence as the other two stared at her for a time.

"Why are we talking about this?" Weiss then asked as she got to her feet and spread her arms in exasperation, "We should not be talking about this."

"It's what happens when a god hitches a ride with you," Jaune quipped with a slight smile.

 **Note: I'm just going to put this out there here and now in anticipation of it maybe coming up; as a ship, I personally think "Fair Game" sucks, and as such, in this story, it won't happen, plain and simple.**

 **With that out of the way, I've had a few people raise concerns about the amount of OCs put into the story, which is a legitimate point, but hear me out. I understand that the concern is based on the possibility that the OCs will eclipse the canon characters in importance, but that there is no version in my head that any OC has played such a role. In my opinion, OCs in such a situation exist to enhance the story of the canon characters; Talos, for example, provides an additive to the stories of both Penny and Pyrrha. I won't say how the others will, but if you've looked at the initial hints, I think people can imagine how Crane and Magenta are going to factor in. Norton is going to be a proxy to Robyn in this, and his Deputies aren't going to serve as replacements for the Ace-Ops; I did say I was going to make my own expanded sorry for Robyn Hill and the Happy Huntresses. The Spirits I think occupy a different space as they fill a void that needed to be filled.**

 **I will appreciate my fellow nerds recognizing those names Weiss sarcastically gave, and also, if anyone has any name ideas, I'm not opposed to hearing them.**

 **Be sure to review. Also, I've had a couple people draw comparisons to Couer in the reviews. While I do appreciate the comparison (which I know are meant as compliments), I would also appreciate it if people could maybe avoid those slightly, if for no other reasons that Couer is a professional writer, while I'm a serviceman in the AF who writes for his personal enjoyment. Yes, I have ambitions at the time, but that's what they currently are, ambitions. I'm going to leave it at that for now.**

 **I also released my new Monsterverse fanfic. If you're interested….**


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